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Joseph Name Meaning, Origins & History

Joseph

Pronunciation: JOH-zuf / JOH-suf

Meaning God increases Origin Hebrew Gender Boy
BOYS RANK
#29
TREND
3
GIRLS RANK
#8,591
TREND
100
Peak Years
1956, 1957, 1955
Lowest Years
1887, 1881, 1883
Energy Archetype
Courageous & Inventive

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Joseph in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Joseph

  • A favorite across generations: Joseph stayed in the U.S. top 100 every year from 1880 through 2025 - 146 consecutive years.
  • An all-time favorite: U.S. records show 2,669,343 boys named Joseph from 1880 through 2025.
  • Still popular, but losing ground: Joseph's rank fell 17 places between 1995 and 2025, while remaining in the top 100.
  • More than 2 million babies named Joseph: U.S. records list 2,680,061 babies given the name Joseph from 1880 through 2025. Even 10,718 girls received the name Joseph - about 1 girl for every 249 boys.

What Does the Name Joseph Mean?

Joseph is the English form of Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף), a name built on the root y-s-p, "to add." It is best explained as a shortened sentence-name in which God is the understood subject, giving the sense "may he add" or "may God add" - usually rendered simply as "he will add." The Genesis story supplies its own wordplay rather than a grammatical analysis: in Genesis 30:24 Rachel names her son and says, "May the LORD add to me another son," a wish for further children that also puns on the sound of the name. That verse underlies the customary phrasing "God will increase." The name reached English through Greek Iōsēph (Ἰωσήφ) and Latin Ioseph.

Joseph Name History & Origins

The most prominent bearer in the Hebrew Bible is Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, whose story fills Genesis 37 - 50: he is sold by his brothers, rises to high office in Egypt, and brings his family there. His descendants were counted as the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and the phrase "house of Joseph" is used in the Bible for the northern tribes as a group.

Joseph was among the most common Jewish male names of the late Second Temple period. It appears repeatedly in the Judean Desert documents and on stone ossuaries from Jerusalem tombs, and four separate men named Joseph appear in the New Testament: Joseph the husband of Mary, Joseph of Arimathea who buried Jesus, Joseph called Barsabbas (Acts 1:23), and Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, renamed Barnabas (Acts 4:36). The first-century Jewish historian Yosef ben Matityahu wrote in Greek and is known as Josephus, or Titus Flavius Josephus, after he became a Roman citizen.

Christian devotion to Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary, was promoted in the early 1400s by the French theologian Jean Gerson and grew stronger in the following centuries. His feast on March 19 was extended to the whole Western Church by Pope Sixtus IV in 1479; Pius IX proclaimed him patron of the universal Church in 1870, and Pius XII established the separate feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1 in 1955. In Islamic tradition the name appears as Yūsuf (يوسف), and the twelfth chapter of the Quran is named for him.

The English form came through Old French Joseph from Latin Ioseph and was in use in medieval England; the twelfth-century Latin poet Joseph of Exeter is one recorded bearer. Other European forms include José (Spanish and Portuguese), Giuseppe (Italian), Josef (German, Czech, and Scandinavian), Jozef (Dutch and Polish), Iosif (Russian, and the modern Greek form), and Yosef (modern Hebrew). Yiddish speakers used the name widely as Yoysef, often shortened to Yosl. Common English short forms are Joe, Joey, and Josie, and "Joe" also came to stand for an ordinary man, as in "the average Joe" or "GI Joe."

How Popular is the Name Joseph?

Joseph has maintained century-spanning popularity, remaining an unbroken fixture in the U.S. top 100 continuously from 1880 to 2025.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

Famous People Named Joseph

Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad

Explore Name Lists Featuring Joseph

Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.

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How the Name Joseph Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You are honest, benevolent, brilliant and often inventive, full of high inspirations. You are courageous, honest, determined, original and creative. You are a leader, especially for a cause. Sometimes you do not care to finish what you start, and may leave details to others. You can do well in position of authority, and prospers in intellectual and professional fields. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.

You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.

✦ Joseph's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Joseph's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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