Explore the Family Name Joel

The meaning of Joel

1. English (northern): variant of Jewell. 2. German, French, and Jewish: from the personal name Joel, Hebrew Yoel, borne by a Biblical prophet. Some characteristic forenames: German Manfred, Hans, Helmut, Helmuth, Ilse.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Joel in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Joel has seen a positive change over a decade. In 2000, the surname ranked 20,234 across the United States with 1,224 individuals bearing it. By 2010, the rank had improved to 19,087, an increase of 5.67%. The number of people with this surname also rose to 1,426, marking a significant count change of 16.5%. The proportion per 100,000 people also increased from 0.45 in 2000 to 0.48 in 2010, showing a growth rate of 6.67%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#20,234	#19,087	5.67%
Count	1,224	1,426	16.5%
Proportion per 100k	0.45	0.48	6.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Joel

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Joel also shifted between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander more than doubled, jumping from 8.17% to 14.59%, an impressive increase of 78.58%. There was also a noticeable rise among Hispanics, from 7.11% to 9.47%, a change of 33.19%, and a slight increase among those claiming two or more races, and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities. However, the percentage of individuals identifying as White fell from 70.59% to 61.08%, a decrease of -13.47%, while the change in those identifying as Black was minimal, moving from 11.27% to 11.50%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	70.59%	61.08%	-13.47%
Asian/Pacific Islander	8.17%	14.59%	78.58%
Black	11.27%	11.5%	2.04%
Hispanic	7.11%	9.47%	33.19%
Two or More Races	2.29%	2.73%	19.21%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.57%	0.63%	10.53%