FastNamesJoshua
Hebrew name meaning "Derived from Hebrew Yehoshua (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ), meaning 'Yahweh is salvation' or 'the Lord saves', from the elements Yah and yasha ('to save').". Ranked 66th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Joshua
Derived from Hebrew Yehoshua (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ), meaning 'Yahweh is salvation' or 'the Lord saves', from the elements Yah and yasha ('to save').
Linguistically, Joshua is classified under Hebrew naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "JOSH-oo-uh".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Joshua has been given to a total of 1,248,929 boys. It has also been given to 4,953 girls.
Peak year: Joshua reached its highest relative share among boys in 1985, when 42,194 babies received the name (22,830 per million births).
All-time best rank: 3rd place, first achieved in 2002.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 66th with 4,773 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 33rd (down 33 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Joshua in the 1980s than in any other decade (396,524 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 465 |
| 1890s | 287 |
| 1900s | 243 |
| 1910s | 926 |
| 1920s | 1,143 |
| 1930s | 948 |
| 1940s | 1,156 |
| 1950s | 2,221 |
| 1960s | 5,326 |
| 1970s | 140,318 |
| 1980s | 396,524 |
| 1990s | 329,192 |
| 2000s | 232,053 |
| 2010s | 106,273 |
| 2020s | 31,854 |
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 Joshua is most common in the US
Accounting for when Joshua was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- West Virginia: 1.4 times the national rate (11,121 births since 1910).
- Maine: 1.4 times the national rate (6,532 births since 1910).
- Wyoming: 1.4 times the national rate (2,541 births since 1910).
- Vermont: 1.4 times the national rate (2,668 births since 1910).
- Kentucky: 1.3 times the national rate (22,951 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 Joshua?
About 1,192,000 living American boys and men share the name Joshua. Additionally, an estimated 4,800 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Joshua is 34 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Joshua
Joshua originates in ancient Hebrew as Yehoshua, combining the divine name Yahweh with the verb yasha, meaning 'to deliver' or 'to save'. In the Old Testament, Joshua was Moses' appointed lieutenant and successor who led the Israelites into the Promised Land across the Jordan River and directed the conquest of Jericho. The name shares the exact etymological root and Hebrew original as the Aramaic name Yeshua, which was Hellenized in the New Testament as Iesous (Jesus).
While the Greek form Jesus was reserved in English-speaking Christian tradition exclusively for Christ, the direct Hebrew form Joshua was adopted by English Puritans during the Reformation in the sixteenth century. It established a strong foothold in colonial New England and across seventeenth-century English provincial towns, being passed down through generations of nonconformist and dissenting families.
In the United States, Joshua experienced one of the most dramatic mid-century resurgences of any biblical name. After ranking moderately around 100 to 200 in the late nineteenth century and dropping into obscurity by mid-century, Joshua skyrocketed in popularity during the 1970s. It entered the national top ten in 1979 and stayed in the top five from 1983 to 2008, holding the number three spot in the country throughout much of the 1990s.
Notable people named Joshua
- Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), Portrait painter
- Joshua Chamberlain (1828–1914), Civil War general and governor
- Joshua Bell (1967–), Violinist and conductor
- Joshua Jackson (1978–), Actor
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. 148.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 182.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), p. 221.