Joel (given name)

For other uses, see Joel (disambiguation).

Joel or Yoel is a male name derived from יוֹאֵל Standard Hebrew, Yoʾel, Tiberian Hebrew, or Yôʾēl, meaning "Yahu is god", "YHWH is God", or the modern translation "Yahweh is God". Joel as a given name appears in the Hebrew Bible.

Joel

Michelangelo's painting of the Biblical prophet
Pronunciation	/ˈdʒoʊəl/ JOH-əl, /ˈdʒoʊl/ JOHL
Gender	Male
Origin
Word/name	Hebrew
Meaning	"YHWH is God"
Other names
Related names	Joe, Joey, Joelle, Joelson

Joel as a given name

Biblical figures

• Joel, Jewish Biblical prophet
• Joel (biblical figure), several minor figures in the Hebrew Bible

Others

• Joel of Dotawo, Sudanese ruler
• Joel Achenbach (born 1960), American staff writer for The Washington Post and author
• Joel Acosta (born 1991), Argentine footballer
• Joel Amoroso (born 1998, Argentine footballer
• Joel Anderson (born 1960), California politician
• Joel Anthony Davies (born 2003), Gladstone Arms Darts Player
• Joël Ayayi (born 2000), French basketball player
• Joel John Bailey (born 1980), Canadian soccer player
• Joel Conrad Bakan (born 1959), Canadian lawyer and writer
• Yoel Chehanovich (born 1993), Israeli footballer
• Joel Barbosa (born 1983), Argentine footballer
• Joel Barlow (1754–1812), American poet and politician
• Joel Barnett (1923–2014), British politician
• Joel Barr (1916–1998) American spy for the Soviet Union
• Joël Batteux (1943–2021), French politician
• Joel Beckett (born 1973), English actor
• Joel Beinin (born 1948), American historian of the Middle East
• Joel Benjamin (born 1964), American chess grandmaster
• Joel Berghult (born 1988), Swedish musician and YouTuber
• Joel Bomgar (born 1980), American businessman and politician
• Joel Bouagnon (born 1995), American football player
• Joël Bouchard (born 1974), Canadian ice hockey player
• Joel Bowden (born 1978), Australian rules footballer
• Joel Brand (1906–1964), Hungarian who had a prominent role in trying to save the Hungarian Jewish community
• Joel Breton, American game producer, DJ and entrepreneur
• Joel Brind, American scientist and anti-abortion activist
• Joel Brooks (born 1949), American actor
• Joel Brutus (born 1974), Haitian judoka
• Joel Carli (born 1986), Argentine retired footballer
• Joel Carpenter (1914–1965), American screenwriter
• Joel Carreño (born 1987), Dominican baseball player
• Joel Casamayor (born 1981), Cuban boxer
• Joel Chan (actor) (born 1976), Hong Kong actor and singer
• Joel Clinton (born 1981), Australian rugby footballer
• Joel Coen (born 1954), American director and producer
• Joel Connable (1973–2012), American news reporter, paramedic, and private pilot
• Joel Courtney (born 1996), American actor
• Joel Crawford (director), American story artist and film director
• Joel Crawford (politician) (1783–1858), American politician, soldier and lawyer
• Joel Crothers (1941–1985), American actor
• Joel Cummins (born 1975), American musician
• Joel DeLisa, American physiatrist
• Joel Dommett (born 1985), British comedian, actor and presenter
• Joel Dorn (1942–2007), American music producer and record label entrepreneur
• Joel Dublanko (born 1998), American football player
• Joel Edgerton (born 1974), Australian actor
• Joel Ekelöf, Swedish vocalist of the band Soen
• Joel Embiid (born 1994), Cameroonian basketball player
• Joel Engle (born 1968), American recording artist
• Joel Erhardt (1838–1909), Commissioner of Police of New York City
• Joel Eriksson (born 1998), Swedish racing driver
• Joel Esteban (born 2005) Spanish motorcycle racer
• Joel Fabiani (born 1936), American actor
• Joel Feinberg (1926–2004), American political and social philosopher
• Joel Fitzgibbon (born 1962), Australian politician
• Joel Fragkakis (born 1949), Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Edessa, Pella, and Almopia
• Joel Freeland (born 1987), British basketball player
• Joël Fuchs (born 1989), Swiss basketball player
• Joel Fuhrman (born 1953), American physician and author
• Joel Garner (born 1952), West Indian cricketer
• Joel Garreau (born 1948), American journalist and author
• Joel Geist (born 1982), American actor
• Joel Gerber (1940–2022) Chief Judge of the United States Tax Court
• Joel Gertner (born 1975), American wrestling personality
• Joel Gion (born 1970 or 1971), American musician
• Joel Gistedt (born 1987), Swedish ice hockey player
• Joel Glazer (born 1967), part of the Glazer family
• Joel Glucksman (born 1949), American Olympic fencer
• Joel Godard (born 1938), American television announcer
• Joel Goldsmith (1957–2012), American composer of film, television music and video games
• Joel S. Goldsmith (1892–1964), American author, teacher, spiritual healer, mystic and founder of the Infinite Way movement
• Joel Gordon, Canadian actor and filmmaker
• Joel Gordon (American football), American football coach and former player
• Joel Greenberg (historian) (born 1946), English educational technology consultant and historian
• Joel Greenberg (politician) (born 1984), American politician and former Florida tax collector
• Joel Greenblatt (born 1957), American academic, hedge fund manager, investor, and writer
• Joel Gretsch (born 1963), American actor
• Joel Grey (born 1932), American actor
• Joel Hailey (born 1969), American musician
• Joel Hanrahan (born 1981), American baseball player
• Joel Chandler Harris (1848–1908), American journalist
• Joel Heath (born 1993), American football player
• Joel Hefley (born 1935), American politician
• Joel Heyman (born 1971), American voice actor
• Joel Higgins (born 1943), American actor and singer
• Joel Henry Hildebrand (1881–1983) American educator and a pioneer chemist
• Joel Hirschhorn (1937–2005), American songwriter
• Joel Hodgson (born 1960), American creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Joel Robinson, the character he plays on the show
• Joel Hoekstra (born 1970), American guitarist
• Joel Holmes (1821–1872), British soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Joel Horlen (1937–2022), American All Star baseball player
• Joel Houston (born 1979), Australian musician and songwriter, worship leader at the Hillsong Church
• Joel Hurt (1850–1926), American businessman and developer
• Joel Hurtado (born 2001), Dominican baseball player
• Joel Hyatt (born 1950), American businessman, attorney and politician
• Joel Isasi (born 1967), Cuban sprinter
• Joel Iyiegbuniwe (born 1995), American football player
• Joël Jeannot (born 1965), French Olympic wheelchair racer
• Joel Jones (born 1981), Puerto Rican basketball player
• Yoel Juárez (born 2002), Argentine footballer
• Joel Kaplan (born 1969), American political advisor
• Joel Kauffman (born 1985), American stock car racer
• Joel Kinnaman (born 1979), Swedish-American actor
• Joel Klein (born 1946), Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education
• Joel Kovel (1936–2018), American politician, academic, writer and eco-socialist
• Joel Kramer (born 1955), American basketball player
• Joel Kodua (born 1997), Ghanaian-born English professional boxer
• Joel Kwiatkowski (born 1977), Canadian ice hockey player
• Joel Landau, American entrepreneur, founder of The Allure Group
• Joel Landau (rabbi), American rabbi
• Joel Lane (1963–2013), British author, poet, critic and anthology editor
• Joel Lanning (born 1994), American football player
• Joël Le Tac (1918–2005), member of the Free French Forces (FFF) during the Second World War
• Joël Le Theule (1930–1980), French politician
• Joel Lebowitz (born 1930), American mathematical physicist
• Joel Lehtonen, Finnish author
• Joel Lehtonen (footballer) (born 1999), Finnish footballer
• Yoel Levi (born 1950), Israeli conductor
• Joel Levin, American psychologist
• Joel S. Levine (born 1942), American planetary and atmospheric scientist
• Joel López Pissano (born 1997), Argentine footballer
• Joel Löwe (1760–1802), German Biblical commentator
• Joel Luani (born 1992), Australian rugby player
• Joel Lundqvist (born 1982), Swedish ice hockey player
• Joel Lynch (born 1987), British football player
• Joel Madden (born 1979), American musician, lead vocalist for Good Charlotte
• Joel Dawit Makonnen (born 1982), Ethiopian prince
• Joel Makower (born 1952), American entrepreneur, writer, and strategist
• Joel Antônio Martins (1931–2003), Brazilian footballer known as "Joel"
• Joël Matip (born 1991), Cameroonian footballer
• Joel McCormack, American computer scientist
• Joel McCrea (1905–1990), American actor
• Joel McHale (born 1971), American actor and host
• Joel McIlroy (born 1973), Australian actor
• Joel McIver (born 1971), British author
• Joel McNeely (born 1959), American music composer for movies and television
• Joel Melasniemi (born 1975), Finnish musician
• Joël Mergui (born 1958), French Jewish official
• Joel Meyerowitz (born 1938), American photographer
• Joel Meyers, American sportscaster
• Joel David Moore (born 1977), American actor
• Joel Moses (1941–2022), Israel-born American computer scientist
• Joel Müller (1897–1895) German rabbi
• Joel Muñoz (born 1980), Panamanian basketball player
• Joel Murray (born 1963), American actor
• Joel Murray (basketball) (born 1999), American basketball player
• Joel Myers (born 1939), American businessman, founder, president and chairman of the board of AccuWeather, Inc.
• Joel Mäntynen, Finnish basketball player
• Joël Gustave Nana Ngongang (1982–2015), Cameroonian activist for LGBT human rights & HIV/AIDS in Africa
• Joel Oppenheimer (1930–1988) American poet
• Joel Osteen (1983), American author, pastor, and televangelist
• Joel Otto (1961), American ice hockey player
• Joel Palmer (1810–1881), American pioneer, author and politician
• Joel Parker (American football) (b. 1952), American football player
• Joel Parker (clergyman) (1799–1873), American Presbyterian clergyman
• Joel Parker (jurist) (1795–1875), American jurist from New Hampshire
• Joel Parker (politician) (1816–1888), American politician for the Democratic Party
• Joel Peralta (born 1976), Dominican baseball player
• Joel Perovuo (born 1985), Finnish football player
• Joel Pimentel de León (born 1999), American singer
• Joel Piñeiro (born 1978), American baseball player
• Joel Plaskett (born 1975), Canadian rock musician
• Joel Pohjanpalo (born 1995), Finnish football player
• Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779–1851), American physician, botanist and diplomat
• Joel Porter (born 1978), Australian football player
• Joël Prévost (1950–2024), French singer
• Joel Primack (born 1945), American professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Joel Przybilla (born 1979), American basketball player
• Joel Robles (born 1990), Spanish football player
• Yoel Rodríguez (born 1988), Spanish footballer
• Joel Quarrington (born 1955), Canadian bass player and soloist
• Joel Quenneville (born 1958), Canadian former ice hockey defenceman, and coach of the NHL's Florida Panthers
• Joel Reddy (born 1985), Australian Rugby League player
• Joel Rifkin (born 1959), American serial killer
• Joel Augustus Rogers (1880–1966), Jamaican-American author, journalist and historian
• Yoel Romero (born 1977), Cuban wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter
• Joel Rosenberg (1954–2011), Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author
• Joel C. Rosenberg (born 1967), American author and communications strategist
• Joel Ross, American tennis player
• Joel Ross (vibraphonist), American jazz vibraphonist
• Joel Roth, American rabbi in the Rabbinical Assembly
• Joel Sacks (born 1989), Argentine footballer
• Joel Salatin (born 1975), American farmer, lecturer, and author
• Yoel Moshe Salomon (1838–1912), Ottoman newspaper publisher and co-founder of towns
• Joel Sampson, Tobago politician
• Joel Santana (born 1948), Brazilian manager and former football player
• Joel Schumacher (1939–2020) American director and producer
• Joel Sclavi (born 1994), Argentine rugby union player
• Joel Selwood (born 1988), Australian Rules footballer
• Joel Shapiro (1941–2025), American sculptor
• Joel Shatzky (1943–2020), American writer and literary professor
• Joel Shepherd (born 1974), Australian science fiction author
• Joel Sherman (born 1962), American Scrabble expert
• Joel ibn Shu'aib, 15th-century rabbi from Aragon
• Joel Siegel (1943-2007), American film critic
• Joel Silbersher (born 1971), musician from Australia
• Joel Silver (born 1952), American film producer
• Joel Sirkis (1561–1640), Central European rabbi
• Joel Skinner (born 1961), American baseball player and coach
• Joel Sonnenberg (born 1977), Christian motivational speaker
• Joel Soriano (born 2000), American basketball player
• Joel Elias Spingarn (1875–1939), American civil rights activist
• Yoel Sela (born 1951), Israeli Olympic competitive sailor
• Joel Spitzer (born 1957), American smoking cessation educator
• Joel Spolsky (born 1965), American software engineer
• Joel Stallworth (born 1984), American sprinter
• Joel Stebbins (1878–1966), American astronomer who pioneered photoelectric photometry in astronomy
• Joel Stein (born 1971), American journalist
• Joel Steinberg (born 1941), New York criminal defense attorney
• Joel Stelly (born 1984), American football player for the Chicago, IL Bears
• Joel Sternfeld (born 1944), American photographer
• Joel Stransky (born 1967), South African rugby union footballer
• Joel Stroetzel (born 1980), American guitarist from the Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage
• Joel Sturm (born 2001), German racing driver
• Joel Surnow (born 1955), American writer and producer
• Joel Sweeney (1810–1860), American musician who popularized the banjo
• Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), Hungarian Hasidic Rabbi and Talmudic scholar
• Joel Thompson (politician) (1760–1843), United States Representative from New York
• Joel Thompson (rugby league) (born 1988), Australian rugby league footballer
• Joel Tobeck (born 1971), New Zealand film and television actor
• Joel Tudor (born 1976), professional surfer from San Diego, California
• Joel Turner (musician) (born 1987), Australian musician
• Joel Veitch (born 1974), English web animator and member of the B3ta collective
• Joel Vital (born 1987), Portuguese footballer known as Joel
• Joël Veltman (born 1992), Dutch footballer
• Joël Voordewind (born 1965), Dutch politician
• Joel Ward (footballer) (born 1989), English footballer
• Joel Ward (ice hockey) (born 1980), ice hockey player
• Joel Ward (magician) (born 1983), magician
• Joel N. Ward (born 1959), foreign currency trader
• Joel Waterman (born 1996), Canadian soccer player
• Joel Wiener (born 1948/49), American billionaire real estate developer and landlord
• Joel Wilson (American football) (born 2000), American football player
• Joel Wilson (rugby) (born 1977), Australian rugby player
• Joel Wilson (umpire) (born 1966), Trinidadian cricket umpire
• Joel Yanofsky (1955–2020), Canadian novelist and literary columnist
• Joel Youngblood (born 1951), American Major League baseball player
• Joel Zifkin (born 1954), Canadian musician and songwriter from Montreal, QC
• Joel Zimmerman (born 1981), Canadian progressive house and electro house DJ better known as deadmau5
• Joel Zumaya (born 1984), American Major League Baseball relief pitcher
• Joel Zwick (born 1942), American director of movies, theatre, and television shows

Fictional characters

• Joel Barish, protagonist of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, portrayed by Jim Carrey
• Joel Fleischman M.D., central character of the TV series Northern Exposure
• Joel Goodson, protagonist of the film Risky Business, portrayed by Tom Cruise
• Joel Hammond, a main character in Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet
• Joel Miller, protagonist of The Last of Us video game
• Joel Miller, kid who drinks from the firehose in UHF (film)
• Joel Robinson, in the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000