Joey
Meaning
unisex English diminutive, usually of Joseph and sometimes of Josephine, Johanna, or another Jo- name
The story
Joey is usually the affectionate everyday form of Joseph, but it has never belonged only to boys. English speakers also use it for Josephine and sometimes Johanna, and it appears independently on birth certificates for people of more than one gender. The Joseph family comes from the Hebrew Yosef, meaning he will add, while a Joey connected to another full name carries that name's own history. American records show a long, modest life rather than one dramatic boom: the curve grows through the middle of the twentieth century, reaches a steady plateau from the 1960s onward, and remains present through the 2020s. Public bearers range from actor Joey King to musician Joey Ramone, making the gender range visible. The honest story is conditional: Joey may be Joseph's nickname, Josephine's nickname, another Jo name's nickname, or simply the complete name a family chose.
The formal names behind Joey
Joey is an established short form of each of these names.
Joseph · Hebrew origin · he will add
Josephine · Hebrew origin · Jehovah increases
Joey in song
Joey
Concrete Blonde (1990)
Johnette Napolitano singing to a lover lost to drink, and the band's one crossover hit from Bloodletting.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Joey peaked in the 1960s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
230 people · the #22,984 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,000,000 · median age 16
Among people named Joey living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 39 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Joey
People given the name Joey in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1960 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Joey deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Joey 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 Joey fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Cantonese and Hong Kong baby names · Short names · Gender-neutral names
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