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Joey

Say it: JOH-ee

BoyMeans pet form of Joseph4 letters2 syllables

#90

in Ireland (2025)

#92 with spellings combined

64

babies in 2025

#81

best rank (2022)

1,017

babies since 1990

Up 44

10-year rank change

Joey through the years

Compare with another name →
Joey: babies per year in Ireland, 1964 to 2025020406080100196419701980199020002010202020251998: CSO series changePeak 2022: 81
Joey: rank per year in Ireland, 1964 to 2025#1#10#50#100#250#500196419701980199020002010202020251998: CSO series change
Joey: per 10,000 boys per year in Ireland, 1964 to 2025010203040196419701980199020002010202020251998: CSO series change
Babies per 10,000 boys listed by the CSO that year, which evens out changes in the number of births.
Show the numbers
YearBabies (boys)Rank
202564#92
202478#81
202362#97
202281#81
202161#105
202061#100
201968#100
201855#120
201746#134
201648#136
201546#136
201464#114
201349#127
201221#250
201131#198
201021#252
200927#209
200816#275
200724#201
200619#211
200511#254
200415#203
200311#245
200210#235
20018#251
20007#250
19993#379
19984#324
19933#339
19903#323

Source: CSO, Irish Babies' Names (VSA50, VSA60), CC BY 4.0.

★ What does Joey mean?

Pet form of Joseph

English, from Joe, the short form of Joseph, with the friendly ending -y.

Say it right

JOHee

The story of Joey

Joey began as a pet form of Joe, which is itself short for Joseph, the Hebrew name usually explained as “he will add”. Now and then it is also used as a short form of Josephine or other names starting with J, though in Ireland it is almost always a boys’ name.

For a long time Joey was what a Joseph might be called at home rather than a name in its own right. That has changed over the last few decades.

Joey first reached the CSO list in 1990 and stayed rare until the 2000s. It climbed through the 2010s and had its best year in 2022, when 81 boys got the name and it reached number 79 on the official CSO ranking. In Northern Ireland it had its highest place yet in 2025, at 72nd.

Say it differently where you're from, or spotted something wrong? Tell us.

Sources
  • Wiktionary: Joey (English proper noun)
  • Wikipedia: Joey (name)
  • CSO VSA50, Boys Names in Ireland with 3 or More Occurrences
  • NISRA Baby Names, Northern Ireland

At a glance

Similar names

JoeJosephJamieJosh

Sibling ideas

KatieEllieLily

Spellings counted here

Spelling2025All years
Joey641,017

In Northern Ireland

#72 in 2025 with 33 babies. Best rank #72 (2025); 246 babies since 2004.

Source: NISRA, Open Government Licence.

Joey is also given to girls: 3 since 2015.

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