Jolee
Variant of the French feminine name Jolie, meaning "pretty" or "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 3,661 living Americans carry the first name Jolee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jolee today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jolee births was 2017 (160 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jolee. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jolee with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.7K
~ 1 in 93,623 Americans
Peak year
2017
160 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,412
Tracked since 1939
Census
Jolee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,138 people with the first name Jolee, which placed it at #5,466 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,466
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,138 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jolee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jolee is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jolee described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jolee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.9% · 2,445
- Hispanic or Latino8.2% · 258
- Two or more races5.1% · 160
- Black or African American4.0% · 125
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 65
Popularity
Jolee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jolee from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,206 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jolee remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jolee by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jolee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jolees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Jolee, while New Jersey, Nebraska, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jolee
The name Jolee has its origins in the French language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to be a French diminutive form of the name Jolene, which is derived from the French word "joli," meaning "pretty" or "lovely." The name Jolee is thought to have been first used as a given name in France during the 13th or 14th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jolee can be found in a 15th-century French manuscript, where it was used as a first name for a woman. While the name was not particularly common during this time, it was occasionally bestowed upon girls as a nod to their perceived beauty or charm.
The name Jolee does not appear to have any significant historical references or connections to ancient texts, religious scriptures, or notable historical figures from earlier eras. However, there have been a few individuals throughout history who have borne this name.
One notable figure was Jolee Bindo, a fictional character from the Star Wars universe. Jolee Bindo was a wise and powerful Jedi Master who appeared in the 2003 video game "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic." Although a fictional character, Jolee Bindo's name has likely contributed to the increased popularity of the name in recent decades.
Another notable Jolee was Jolee Adamson (1935-2012), an American actress and singer who appeared in several television shows and films throughout the 20th century. She was best known for her role as Nina Webster on the long-running soap opera "The Young and the Restless."
Jolee Caulfield (born 1975) is a contemporary American singer and songwriter who rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with her unique blend of rock and pop music. She has released several albums and continues to perform and tour.
Jolee Pati (born 1980) is a Samoan-American actress and model who has appeared in various television shows and films, including "The Scorpion King" and "Lost."
Jolee Benz (born 1976) is an American actress known for her roles in several popular television series, including "Pitch" and "Shameless." She has also appeared in various films and continues to work in the entertainment industry.
While the name Jolee has not been among the most popular given names throughout history, it has maintained a consistent presence and has been embraced by individuals from various backgrounds and cultures. Its origins in the French language and its association with beauty and charm have likely contributed to its enduring appeal.
People
Jolee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jolee as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jolee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jolee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,661 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jolee going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 93,623 US residents.
Is Jolee a common name?
We classify Jolee as "Rare". It ranks above 95.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,830 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jolee most popular?
The single biggest year for Jolee was 2017, when 160 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jolee is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jolee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,138 people with the name Jolee, or 1.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,466 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jolee in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jolee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jolee appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,140 people counted with this name, 99.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jolee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jolee is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jolee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jolee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.9% (2,445 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jolee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jolee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jolee in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jolee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jolee in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jolee can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Jolee?
You can see how many people share the name Jolee on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.