Joy
Top 1000
About Joy
Joy is from an older generation of word names, which also included Merry, Bliss, and Glory -- all of which exert a certain amount of personality pressure on a child. However, Joy, like Grace, Hope, and Rose, has crossed more into name-territory than other word choices, which lightens some of that pressure.
Joy began to be used as a name by the seventeenth century Puritans, with the idea of "being joyful in the Lord." It came into more general use in the late nineteenth central, part of the revival of virtue names. Her high point was in 1974, when she reached Number 109 on the popular names charts. Joy has also been often used as a middle name. Two recent bearers: comedian/TV personality Joy Behar and Joy Mangano, the inventor whose life was the basis of Oscar-nominated biopic Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence.
Pronounced JOY.
As of October 2026, Joy ranked #419 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #109 in 1974, Nameberry popularity #519.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #458 | 698 | 390.7 |
| 2015 | #430 | 734 | 411.2 |
| 2016 | #352 | 954 | 538.4 |
| 2017 | #335 | 968 | 560.7 |
| 2018 | #353 | 902 | 530.3 |
| 2019 | #344 | 917 | 546.4 |
| 2020 | #395 | 788 | 487.5 |
| 2021 | #407 | 779 | 474.8 |
| 2022 | #463 | 685 | 417.6 |
| 2023 | #454 | 680 | 423.8 |
| 2024 | #442 | 702 | 433.3 |
| 2025 | #419 | 747 | 464.8 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Joy.
- Cherrie
- Holly
- May
- Hope
- April
- Faith
- Heather
- Carolina
- Wendy
- Rosa
- Robin
- Julie
- Cassie
- Heidi
- Carrie
- Marilyn
- Penny
- Rita
- Timothy
- Sally
Joy on lists
Famous Joys
- Joy Behar (born Josephina Victoria Occhiuto)
American talk show host
- Joy Philbin
American TV personality and wife of talk show host Regis Philbin
- Joy Lynn Fawcett
American soccer player
- Joy Elizabeth Williams
American singer,songwriter of The Civil Wars
- Joy Harjo
American poet
- Joy Adamson (born Friederike Victoria Gessner)
Czech,British author and naturalist
- Joy Lauren (born Lauren Joy Jorgensen)
American actress
- (Marilyn) Joy Quigley
New Zealand politician
- Joy Ann Smith
Canadian politician
- Joy Charity Enriquez
American singer and actress
- Joy Uche Angela Ogwu
Nigerian diplomat
- Joy Giovanni
American actress, model and pro wrestler
- Joy Annabelle Womack
American ballerina
- Joy Garnett
Canadian,American artist
- Joy Rae Brown
birth name of Joi Lansing, American actress
- (Helen) Joy Davidman
American poet; wife of novelist C.S. Lewis
- Joy Bryant
American model and actress
- Joy
stage name of Park Sooyoung; singer, dancer, and member of South Korean girl group Red Velvet
- Joy
Anna Duggar (b. 1997), 9th child (5th daughter) of the reality TV's Duggar family
- Joy
Anna Willis (b. 2006), 10th child (7th daughter) of the family band, The Willis Clan
- Joy Uygur (b. 2012)
daughter of TV personality Cenk Uygur
- Joy (b. 2017)
daughter of model Jessica Michibata
- Joy Mangano (b. 1956) American inventor & entrepreneur
the 2015 film "Joy" was based on her
Joy in pop culture
- Joy Mercer
character on TV's "House of Anubis"
- Joy
character in the Wayside School series by Louis Sachar
- Nurse Joy
character from Pokemon video game series
- Joy
character from Disney's "Inside Out"
- Joy Birch
character in 2013 film "Prisoners'
- Joy Ruth Keenan
birth name of Dr. Temperance Brennan, main character on TV series "Bones"
- Rachel Joy Cuddy
character on TV's "House, MD"
- Joy "Ma" Newsome
character in Emma Donohughe's novel/film, "Room"
- "Joy
" 2015 film
- "Joy Luck Club
" 1993 film
- Joy McNally
character in the 2008 romantic comedy film "What Happens in Vegas" played by Cameron Diaz
- JOY
acronym that stands for , JESUS first...OTHERS second...YOURSELF last!