Journey
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Meaning
from the word "journey"
The story
Journey is the original spelling at last: its French-dressed daughter Journee told her story ten batches back in our worklist, and the plain English word turns out to lead the family. The record: about 700 in the 1990s, 3,800 in the 2000s, 11,800 in the 2010s, and 6,600 so far this decade, running ahead of Journee's line the whole way. The split is worth stating: about 20,900 girls to 2,000 boys all-time, a tenth boys, some of them perhaps owed to a band that never stopped believing. It anchors the wish-name register with Hope, the ancestor, and Haven and Saylor, the fleet. Two spellings, one metaphor, and the plain form winning: sometimes the dictionary word carries the wish better than any decoration could, and the record says American families agree.
How popular is Journey around the world?
In the United States, 6,570 babies were named Journey between 2020 and 2025.
Journey is on the official records of the United States, Canada and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 3,300
In the United States, 6,570 babies were named Journey between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Journey peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. Journey went to 1,225 US babies in 2015 and 836 in 2025, 68% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 14,000
In Canada, 27 girls named Journey were born in 2024, the 991st most common name among girls that year.
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)
England and Wales
1 in 84,000
In England and Wales, 7 girls named Journey were born in 2025, ranked 3,333rd among girls that year.
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
New Zealand
last on record 2024
Journey is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
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
South Australia
last on record 2015
Journey is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Journey
Most people given the name Journey in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Journey · African American baby names · Climbers and fallers
The Journey deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Journey 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 Journey fits with your family’s names and surname.
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