Joey is the English diminutive of Joseph — from the Hebrew Yosef, meaning "God will add" or "God will increase" — given as an independent name primarily in American use. With 7,497 SSA records for girls and a 1974 peak, Joey on a girl sits in the interesting category of names traditionally male that have found genuine footing in female use through the 20th century, carried by specific pop-culture moments and the broader American comfort with gender-crossing nickname names.
Joseph to Joey: The Nickname-as-Name Tradition
Joey is to Joseph what Bobby is to Robert and Billy is to William — the diminutive pet form that became so commonly used it started appearing on birth certificates as a standalone name. On boys, Joey is an affectionate, slightly informal version of the formal Joseph. On girls, it entered use in the mid-20th century as part of the gender-crossing nickname trend that also gave us Billie, Frankie, and Ronnie as girl names. Hebrew names filtered through English diminutive forms have followed this gender-crossing path repeatedly — the original Hebrew name stays masculine while the diminutive migrates.
Pop Culture: Friends, and the Joey Problem
Joey Tribbiani from Friends , played by Matt LeBlanc from 1994 to 2004 , is the most culturally prominent Joey of the past thirty years, and he is unmistakably male. For a girl named Joey, this association is the constant companion: every introduction risks the "Oh, like Joey from Friends?" moment. That association can be charming or slightly exhausting depending on the bearer's relationship to the show. Compare Joey and Jo: Jo is the more historically gender-neutral form, with strong literary heritage through Jo March of Little Women; Joey is the American diminutive version, warmer and more casual.
The Counter-Reading: A Name That Fights Its Own History
Joey's gender identity in American culture is firmly masculine , the SSA data for boys named Joey dwarfs the girls' count by orders of magnitude. A girl named Joey will spend her childhood explaining that yes, it is her actual name, and her adulthood navigating a name that most people file immediately under "male." That daily renegotiation of assumption may be precisely what some parents love about the name , its refusal to conform to gendered naming expectations. For parents who want their daughter's name to come with no gender assumptions, Joey delivers that experience daily, without apology. Four-letter girl names with this level of gender ambiguity are a small and specific category.