FastNamesJoseph
Hebrew name meaning "Derived from Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף), meaning 'may he add' or 'God shall increase', from the verb yasaf ('to add').". Ranked 29th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Joseph
Derived from Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף), meaning 'may he add' or 'God shall increase', from the verb yasaf ('to add').
Linguistically, Joseph is classified under Hebrew naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "JOH-zif".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Joseph has been given to a total of 2,669,490 boys. It has also been given to 10,723 girls.
Peak year: Joseph reached its highest relative share among boys in 1914, when 18,829 babies received the name (28,757 per million births).
All-time best rank: 5th place, first achieved in 1912.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 29th with 7,303 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 21st (down 8 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Joseph in the 1950s than in any other decade (300,012 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 26,292 |
| 1890s | 29,000 |
| 1900s | 35,173 |
| 1910s | 179,300 |
| 1920s | 243,809 |
| 1930s | 180,566 |
| 1940s | 230,285 |
| 1950s | 300,012 |
| 1960s | 283,048 |
| 1970s | 244,825 |
| 1980s | 299,411 |
| 1990s | 260,751 |
| 2000s | 194,962 |
| 2010s | 115,722 |
| 2020s | 46,334 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Joseph is most common in the US
Accounting for when Joseph was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Rhode Island: 2.0 times the national rate (20,905 births since 1910).
- New Jersey: 1.9 times the national rate (138,689 births since 1910).
- Pennsylvania: 1.7 times the national rate (257,988 births since 1910).
- Connecticut: 1.7 times the national rate (49,951 births since 1910).
- New York: 1.7 times the national rate (348,324 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Joseph?
About 1,688,000 living American boys and men share the name Joseph. Additionally, an estimated 6,900 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Joseph is 45 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Joseph
Joseph is an ancient Hebrew theophoric name originating with the eleventh son of Jacob and firstborn of Rachel in Genesis. According to biblical narrative, Rachel named her newborn Yosef with the prayer that the Lord would add another son to her family. Joseph's story—sold by his jealous brothers into Egyptian slavery, rising to become Grand Vizier of Pharaoh, and saving his family from famine—is among the most celebrated narratives in Scripture.
In the New Testament, Joseph is borne by Joseph of Nazareth, husband of Mary and earthly protector of Jesus, as well as Joseph of Arimathea. The name spread through Greek Ioseph and Latin Iosephus across Christendom, though its widespread popular adoption in Western Europe blossomed in the late Middle Ages as veneration of Saint Joseph expanded. The name became ubiquitous throughout England, France, Spain, and Italy.
In the United States, Joseph has been a titan of American naming, holding a place in the national top twenty in every single decade from the 1880s to the 2010s. It held top-ten status throughout the late nineteenth century and the entire first half of the twentieth century, peaking at rank 6 in multiple decades. Its enduring popularity across Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish communities makes it one of the most historically stable names in the nation.
Notable people named Joseph
- Joseph Conrad (1857–1924), Novelist
- Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), Composer
- Joseph Pulitzer (1847–1911), Newspaper publisher
- Joseph Lister (1827–1912), Surgeon and medical pioneer
- Joe Biden (1942–), 46th U.S. President
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 147.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 180.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), p. 415.