Joplin
A feminine name derived from the name of the city in Missouri.
Name Census estimates that about 345 living Americans carry the first name Joplin. It is a predominantly female name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Joplin today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joplin births was 2019 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joplin. 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.
People living today
345
~ 1 in 993,491 Americans
Peak year
2019
27 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
1978 SSA rank
#6,269
Tracked since 1978
Census
Joplin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 335 people with the first name Joplin, which placed it at #27,353 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
#27,353
National first-name rank
People counted
335
335 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joplin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joplin is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.4%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Joplin 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 Joplin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.2% · 262
- Two or more races8.4% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 23
- Black or African American4.8% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Joplin
Joplin leans heavily female at 98.6% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Joplin as a male name
- Ranked #6,269 in 1978
- 5 male births in 1978
- Peak: 1978 (5 births)
Joplin as a female name
- Ranked #8,134 in 2024
- 13 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (27 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Joplin leans strongly female. 283 people counted with this name were female (84.0%), compared with 54 male bearers (16.0%).
Popularity
Joplin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Joplin from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 185 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Joplin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Joplin 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 Joplin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Joplins live
Origin
Meaning and history of Joplin
Joplin is a unique given name with an intriguing history that can be traced back to the early 19th century in the United States. Its origins are believed to be rooted in the Native American language of the Sioux tribe, where it was derived from the word "hu-blo-hi," meaning "a place of sweet potatoes."
The name first gained prominence in the late 1800s, especially in the Midwest region of the United States. It is closely associated with the city of Joplin, Missouri, which was founded in 1873 and named after Reverend Harris Joplin, a pioneer and early settler in the area. The city's name, in turn, likely influenced the popularity of the given name Joplin.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Joplin can be found in historical records from the late 19th century. In 1888, Joplin Gillette was born in Missouri, becoming one of the first known individuals to bear this unique moniker. Another notable early bearer of the name was Joplin Porter, who was born in 1892 in Texas.
Throughout the 20th century, the name Joplin gained further recognition and enduring legacy due to the renowned American composer and pianist, Joplin Scott (1868-1917). He is widely regarded as the "King of Ragtime" and is best known for his iconic compositions, such as "The Entertainer" and "Maple Leaf Rag." Joplin's musical contributions have left an indelible mark on American culture and have undoubtedly contributed to the popularity of his distinctive first name.
Other notable individuals named Joplin include Joplin Higgins (1869-1938), an American entrepreneur and businessman from Missouri, and Joplin Merrill (1909-1980), a renowned American artist and illustrator. Additionally, Joplin Daniels (1922-1991) was a respected American author and educator, best known for his works on Native American literature and culture.
While relatively uncommon, the name Joplin has maintained a unique and enduring presence throughout history, drawing inspiration from its Native American roots and the iconic city that bears its name. Its rich cultural heritage and association with notable figures, particularly in the arts and literature, have contributed to its continued use as a distinctive and memorable given name.
People
Joplin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joplin 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
Joplin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joplin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 345 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joplin 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 993,491 US residents.
Is Joplin a common name?
We classify Joplin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 348 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joplin most popular?
The single biggest year for Joplin was 2019, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joplin is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Joplin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 335 people with the name Joplin, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,353 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 Joplin 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 Joplin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Joplin leans strongly female. 283 people counted with this name were female (84.0%), compared with 54 male bearers (16.0%). 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 Joplin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joplin is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.4%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Joplin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Joplin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.2% (262 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 Joplin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Joplin a female name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Joplin 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 Joplin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Joplin 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 Joplin 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 Americans are named Joplin?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.