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Joy

What does Joy mean?

Joy Pronunciation of Joy as a girls' name is pronounced joy. It is of Old French and Latin origin, and the meaning of Joy is "joy". Used in the Middle Ages, and made popular in the 17th century under the influence of the Puritans, to whom being "joyful in the Lord" was an important duty. In modern times, it generally signifies the parents' joy in their new-born child, or with the intention of wishing her happiness. Joya and Joie (zhoh-EE, z'wah) are French.

STARTS WITH Jo-

ASSOCIATED WITH 17th century, puritans, modern

Variations

VARIANTS Gioia, Gioya, Jioia, Jioya, Joi, Joia, Joice, Joie, Joya, Joyann, Joyanna, Joyanne, Joye, Joyelle

CREATIVE FORMS
(female)

(male)


MIDDLE NAME PAIRINGS
Joy Noelani (J.N.), ..

How popular is Joy?

Joy is a very popular first name for females (#230 out of 4276, Top 5%) and also a very popular surname for all people (#2607 out of 150436, Top 2%). (2000 U.S. DEMOGRAPHICS)

Joy reached its peak rank of #145 in the U.S. in the 1970s, and is presently at #355. (2018 U.S. SSA RECORDS)

Top 2000 baby names ranking of Joy name in U.S.

Top 100 baby names ranking of Joy outside U.S.

Which version is better?

Prominent related forms of Joy (#355 LAST YEAR) listed in the Top 2000 are Joi and Joye. These forms of Joy reached the apex of their popularity during 1970-1979 (AVERAGE #1155) and are now significantly less widespread (#1451, DOWN 61%).



Top 2000 baby names ranking of Joy, Joi, Joye in U.S.

Top 100 baby names ranking of Joy and related baby names outside U.S.

Similar Names

Joy is alike in pronunciation to Gia, Ja-, Jae, Jay, Jaya, Jaye, Je-, Jeh, Jey and Joey. Other recommended sound-alike names are Jo, Joby, Jody, Joly and Josy. These names tend to be less frequently used than Joy.

See names
in meaning and etymology.


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