Joaquin
Meaning
Spanish form of Joachim, "God will establish"
Say it: wah-KEEN (in Spanish, Joaquín takes an accent and three syllables)
Also written Joaquín.
The story
Joaquin is the Spanish form of Joachim, from the Hebrew for "God will establish," and by tradition the name of the father of the Virgin Mary. It carries a specific music, that soft Spanish j that English speakers learn the first time they hear it said right. In the US it climbed with the Spanish-speaking population and then crossed over: 2,150 in the 1970s, 8,184 in the 2000s, 9,899 in the 2010s, and about 6,100 so far this decade. It is a boy's name. Most Americans first met it through the actor Joaquin Phoenix, who kept the original pronunciation and made everyone else learn it. Between the saint and the star, it manages to be devout and modern at once, which is a useful thing for a name to be.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Joaquin peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
16,997 people · the #1,178 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 11,905 · median age 35
Among people named Joaquin living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 3,442 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Joaquin
Most people given the name Joaquin in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Joaquin deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Joaquin truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Joaquin fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Joaquin travels
Mexican American · God will establish (Spanish form of Joachim)
Filipino · God will establish (Spanish form of Joachim)
Keep exploring
Names like Joaquin · Filipino baby names · Mexican American baby names
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