Here are the top twenty most-published Christmas hymns, based on data from the Dictionary of North American Hymnology. The number following each hymn is the number of hymnals in which it was published in North America before 1979, according to the DNAH, plus about 40 hymnals published since then.
- Joy to the world! (1,387)
- Hark! the herald angels sing (974)
- Brightest and best of the sons of the morning (870)
- When shepherds watched their flocks by night (800)
- It came upon the midnight clear (614)
- O little town of Bethlehem (564)
- Angels from the realms of glory (532)
- Silent night, holy night (452)
- O come, all ye faithful (450)
- As with gladness men of old (441)
- Come, thou long-expected Jesus (362)
- Away in a manger (332)
- O come, O come Emmanuel (326)
- Thou dist leave thy throne (285)
- Calm on the listening ear of night (283)
- The first Noel the angel did say (272)
- We three kings of Orient are (231)
- All my heart this night rejoices (203)
- There's a song in the air (160)
- Wake, awake, for night is flying (157)
- Angels we have heard on high (144)
- Good Christian men [friends], rejoice (134)
- Shepherds, rejoice! lift up your eyes (122)
- What child is this who, laid to rest (111)
- From heaven above to earth I come (106)
- Christians awake, salute the happy morn (102)
- See amid the winter's snow (101)
[List edited: see comments below]