The story behind Joel
From Hebrew יוֹאֵל (yo'él, “Yahweh (is) God”). As a medieval French and English given name, it is also from Breton Judicaël (related to Joyce and Jocelyn). Cf. Elijah.
Other language forms and explanations (3)
Finnish entry
From Biblical Hebrew יוֹאֵל (yo'él, literally “Yahweh is God”).
Polish entry
Learned borrowing from Latin Ioel.
Portuguese entry
a male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English Joel
Pronunciation
General-American: /ˈd͡ʒoʊ(ə)l/
Regional pronunciation variants
- General-American, some men: /d͡ʒoʊˈɛl/
- Received-Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒəʊ(ə)l/
- Received-Pronunciation, some men: /d͡ʒəʊˈɛl/
- doll–dole merger: /ˈd͡ʒɒl/
- Finnish: /ˈjoel/
- Finnish: [ˈjo̞e̞l]
- Polish: /ˈjɔ.ɛl/
- Portuguese; Brazil: /ʒoˈɛw/
- Portuguese; Brazil: [ʒoˈɛʊ̯]
- Portuguese; Portugal: /ˈʒwɛl/
- Portuguese; Portugal: [ˈʒwɛɫ]
- Portuguese; Portugal; Southern: /ˈʒwɛ.li/
Popularity
Joel ranked #13970 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Joel
Jill
A variant of Gill, diminutive of Gillian, a medieval form of Juliana, ultimately from Latin.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends L
- same syllable count
- similar length
Joël
a male given name from Hebrew or Breton, equivalent to English Joel
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends L
- same syllable count
- similar length
Paul
From Latin Paulus, from paulus (“small”). Doublet of Pablo and Paolo. From Latin Paulus. From Latin Paulus, probably via Swedish Paul, German Paul or English Paul. Cognate…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends L
- same syllable count
- similar length
Saul
Borrowed from Old English Saul. Doublet of Silas, which derived from Aramaic. From Biblical Hebrew שָׁאוּל (šāʾûl, literally “asked (for)”). Learned borrowing from Late Latin…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends L
- same syllable count
- similar length
Tal
Borrowed from Hebrew טַל (tal, “dew”).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends L
- same syllable count
- similar length
Iúil
From Latin Iūlius.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends L
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Joel
Amy
Anglicized form of Old French Amee (modern French Aimée), which was both a nickname and a form of the Latin name Amata (“beloved”).
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends Y
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Ari
Of the first sense, derives directly from Hebrew: אֲרִי (arí, “lion”); compare Yiddish: לייב (leyb, “Leib”), English: Leo, Leon, French: Léo, Léon, Czech: Lev, Polish: Lew,…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends I
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Ary
A male given name from Hebrew, of Jewish usage, variant of Arieh.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends Y
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Joel
Adah
From Hebrew עָדָה (adá, “Adah”, literally “ornament, dawn”).
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection
Adam
Middle English Adam English Adam From Middle English Adam, from Old English Adam, from Latin Adam, Adamus, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), Ἄδαμος (Ádamos), from Biblical Hebrew…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends M
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection
Ahab
From Middle English Achab, from Latin Achab, from Ancient Greek Ἀχαάβ (Akhaáb), from Hebrew אַחְאָב (ʼAḥʼāḇ, “uncle”); from אַח (ʼaḥ, “brother”) + אָב (ʼāḇ, “father”). Attested…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends B
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection