Joel

In the Hebrew Bible, Joel is best known as one of the twelve minor prophets, author of the Book of Joel, likely composed between the 9th and 5th centuries BCE.

His prophecies center on a devastating locust plague interpreted as divine judgment and on the coming “day of the Lord,” including the famous passage about God pouring out his spirit “on all flesh,” later quoted by the apostle Peter in Acts 2:17.

Other biblical Joels include the eldest son of the prophet Samuel.

Joel was rarely used in medieval Christendom but was revived during the Protestant Reformation, when Reformers returned to Old Testament names.

The name appears in English literature through George Eliot’s Adam Bede (1859) and in the writings of Joel Barlow (1754-1812), an American Revolutionary poet and diplomat who wrote The Columbiad (1807).

In the United States, Joel has appeared on the Social Security Administration top 1000 for boys continuously since 1880, peaking inside the top 100 during the 1970s and remaining steadily in the top 200-300 since.

The name is strongly favored by Christian, Jewish, and Latino families. It is also among the most popular boys’ names in Finland, Sweden, and Spain, and has long been standard in Germany and the Netherlands.

Contemporary bearers include singer-songwriter Billy Joel, actor Joel McHale, Australian singer Joel Madden, and Spanish footballer Joel Robles.