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Joey

gender-neutral name
Origin
Hebrew
Syllables
2
Peak era
1960s/2020s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Joey and another name? Compare them side by side →

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.

More names with stories →

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

Why we verify every short-form relationship →

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.

How popular is Joey around the world?

In the United States, 2,537 babies were named Joey between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 64 boys named Joey were born in 2025, the 90th most common name among boys that year.

Joey is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, Canada, South Australia, France, Austria, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 8,600

In the United States, 2,537 babies were named Joey between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 1960s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Joey peaked in the 1960s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Ireland

1 in 850

In Ireland, 64 boys named Joey were born in 2025, the 90th most common name among boys that year.

1990peak 2022

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Scotland

1 in 920

In Scotland, 50 boys named Joey were registered in 2024, the 103rd most common name among boys that year.

1974peak 2020

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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England and Wales

1 in 1,800

In England and Wales, 324 boys named Joey were born in 2025, the 163rd most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 20132025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Canada

1 in 3,500

In Canada, 72 boys named Joey were born in 2024, the 431st most common name among boys that year.
In Canada, 32 girls named Joey were born in 2024, the 870th most common name among girls that year.

peak 19932024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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South Australia

1 in 4,600 · 2017

In South Australia, 4 boys were registered as Joey in 2017.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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France

1 in 9,200

In France, about 45 boys named Joey were born in 2025, the 842nd most common name among boys that year.
In France, about 25 girls named Joey were born in 2025, ranked 1,378th among girls that year.

1980peak 19992025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

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Austria

1 in 76,000

In Austria, 1 boy named Joey was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Spain

1 in 440,000

In Spain, 101 residents are named Joey, ranked 8,211th among men, with a mean age of 33.3 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Brazil

1 in 1M

At the 2022 census, 230 people in Brazil were named Joey, ranked 22,984th, with a median age of 16.
Among people named Joey living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.

1990speak 2000s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 39 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Argentina

last on record 2020

Joey is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Mexico City City

last on record 2021

Joey is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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Montevideo City

last on record 2002

Joey is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

New Zealand

last on record 2023

Joey is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

2020peak 20232025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Poland

last on record 2017

Joey is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

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Puerto Rico

last on record 2004

Joey is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 32 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

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Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

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.

Names that fit alongside Joey

Zeke Zack Matt Ben Mike Cale

Keep exploring

Cantonese and Hong Kong baby names · Short names · What is Joey short for? · Gender-neutral names

Name trails: explore connections from Joey →

The Joey deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

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.

Both reports, explained →

Does Joey fit YOUR family?

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