Short form of Joseph, from Hebrew 'Yosef' meaning God will add or increase.
Joe is one of the plainest-looking names in English, but it carries an ancient lineage. It began as the familiar short form of Joseph, from the Hebrew Yosef, usually understood to mean "he will add" or "God will add." Through the Bible, Joseph traveled into Greek and Latin and then into a huge range of European languages, becoming one of the most enduring personal names in the Western world.
Joe emerged as the brisk, democratic English nickname: less ceremonial than Joseph, more conversational, and instantly recognizable. That informality is exactly what gave Joe its cultural power. It belongs to figures as different as Joe DiMaggio, Joe Louis, Joe Frazier, Joe Montana, and Joe Biden, and in everyday speech it became symbolic: "average Joe" for the ordinary person, "GI Joe" for the American serviceman, even "cup of joe" in coffee slang.
Over time, Joe evolved from simply a nickname into a standalone given name, especially in Anglo-American families that preferred brevity and warmth over formality. Its reputation has shifted from rough-and-ready everyman to classic and unpretentious. Few names feel so ordinary, and so archetypal, at once.