Joy
Joy is a female given name: 98% of people named Joy are women, and it is recorded as female in 4 of the 8 countries covered.
- Verdict
- Female
- Male / female split
- 2% male / 98% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- United States, Great Britain, Switzerland
- US births since 1880
- 2,491 male / 134,424 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Joy
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Joy," in English, "Guten Tag Joy," in German. Joy is a female given name: about 98% of people named Joy are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Joy,
German
Guten Tag Joy,
French
Bonjour Joy,
Spanish
Estimado/a Joy:
Chinese
Joy您好：
Japanese
Joy様
English
Hi Joy,
German
Hi Joy,
French
Salut Joy,
Spanish
Hola Joy,
Chinese
Joy你好：
Japanese
Joyさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | very common | woman's name | 2% |
| Great Britain | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Switzerland | rare | woman's name | 25% |
| Denmark | rare | woman's name | 2% |
| Ireland | rare | woman's name | 2% |
| Belgium | rare | unisex name | 50% |
| India and Sri Lanka | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Netherlands | rare | unisex name | 50% |
United States birth data
2,491 male · 134,424 female · 136,915 births recorded
Since 1980: 2% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Joy a male or female name?
Joy is a female given name: 98% of people named Joy are women, and it is recorded as female in 4 of the 8 countries covered.
How do I address Joy in an email?
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Joy," in English, "Guten Tag Joy," in German. Joy is a female given name: about 98% of people named Joy are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Is Joy a unisex name?
Joy is not a unisex name: 2% of people named Joy are men. Joy leans strongly female overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Joy a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/joy (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_joy,
title = {Is Joy a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/joy},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}