UK boy's name
Yoel
A Hebrew masculine given name signifying "Yahweh is God".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Yoel is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Yoel popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1758, with 14 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2021, with 25 births.
This profile covers 293 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 56% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 291 living people in the UK are called Yoel. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Yoel ranked #1758 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 14 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2021, when 25 boys were registered as Yoel.
- • About 291 living people in the UK are estimated to have Yoel as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1758
2024
Births in 2024
14
Latest year
Peak year
2021
25 births
Estimated living
291
2026
Meaning
What does Yoel mean?
The name Yoel has its origins in the Hebrew language. It is derived from the biblical Hebrew name Yo'el, which means "Yahweh is God" or "the Lord is God." The name is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, where Yoel is the name of a prophet who authored the Book of Joel, one of the twelve minor prophets in the Old Testament.
The name Yoel has been in use for thousands of years and has been found in various ancient texts and historical records. In the Book of Joel, the prophet Yoel is described as the son of Pethu'el, but little is known about his life beyond what is written in the biblical text.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Yoel is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts dating back to the third century BCE. The name appears in various forms, such as Yo'el and Yohoel, indicating its long-standing presence in Jewish culture.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yoel. One of the most famous was Yoel ben Shua, a Jewish scholar and physician who lived in the 11th century CE in Seville, Spain. He was known for his contributions to the field of medicine and his writings on various subjects, including philosophy and linguistics.
Another notable figure was Yoel Moshe Salomon, a prominent Jewish scholar and kabbalist who lived in the 16th century CE in Safed, present-day Israel. He was known for his teachings on Jewish mysticism and his influential works on the Kabbalah.
In the 17th century, Yoel Bril was a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his landscapes and city scenes. He was born in Antwerp in 1601 and died in 1668.
In the 20th century, Yoel Lerner was an Israeli artist and sculptor born in 1918 in Rohatyn, Ukraine. He is best known for his abstract sculptures and his contributions to the development of modern Israeli art.
Yoel Romero, born in 1977, is a Cuban-American professional mixed martial artist who has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is known for his outstanding wrestling skills and knockout power.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Yoel over time
The chart below shows babies named Yoel registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Yoel, the clearest high point is 2021. The latest England and Wales figure is 14 births in 2024, compared with 25 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yoel by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Yoel was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #1752 | 78 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2037 | 116 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2062 | 75 | 10 |
| 1990s | #1978 | 24 | 4 |
Related
Names similar to Yoel
- Yusuf 11,801
- Yahya 5,758
- Yunus 2,009
- Yaseen 1,799
- Yasin 1,797
- Yuvraj 1,605
- Yaqub 1,517
- Yousef 1,489
- Yousuf 1,454
- Yasir 1,056
- Yash 876
- Youssef 749
FAQ
Yoel: questions and answers
How popular is the name Yoel in the UK right now?
In 2024, Yoel was ranked #1758 for boys in England and Wales, with 14 births registered.
When was Yoel most popular?
The peak year on record was 2021, with 25 babies registered as Yoel in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Yoel?
A Hebrew masculine given name signifying "Yahweh is God".
How many people are called Yoel in the UK?
A total of 293 babies have been registered as Yoel across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.