Joseph
Joseph was the 29th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 7,303 babies. Its best year was 1912, when it ranked 5th; the most babies were born in 1956 (32,749). Over the last ten years it has moved down 8 places. More babies were named Joseph in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Meaning 'God will add / increase' · Hebrew
Say it JOH-suf /ˈdʒoʊsəf/
- Rank in 2025
- #29 boys, down 3 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 7,303boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 195632,749 babies
- Total since 1880
- 2,680,213babies recorded
What does the name Joseph mean?
Joseph is a Hebrew name, glossed by DMNES as 'God will increase'. In Genesis 30:24 Rachel names him with the wish that God add another son. Its bearers include Jacob's son Joseph in Genesis and Joseph, husband of Mary, in the New Testament. It has been common in Christian Europe since the Middle Ages.
יוֹסֵף (Biblical Hebrew, “Yosef, 'may he add'”)
How sure is this? Well established.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Joseph'
- Hebrew Bible, Genesis 30.24, JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition, with translator's note (via Sefaria)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (names.zip, yob*.txt), team3 computation
- Wikidata item Q471788
- Wiktionary, entry 'Joseph'
Nicknames for Joseph
The usual nicknames for Joseph are Joe, Joey and Jojo. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Joseph in the last five years, 4 were named Joe, against 4 twenty years earlier. Joey is also gaining on the full name.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe | Traditional | #994 | 1,330 |
| Joey · also for Joe | Traditional | #877 | 1,315 |
| Jojo · also for Josephine, Joanna | Modern | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Josephs go by each one.
Joseph popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 10,723 since 1880, 12 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #29 | 7,303 |
| 2020 | #26 | 8,486 |
| 2010 | #20 | 13,851 |
| 2000 | #8 | 22,844 |
| 1990 | #10 | 30,137 |
| 1980 | #10 | 30,185 |
| 1970 | #16 | 26,714 |
| 1960 | #12 | 29,749 |
| 1950 | #13 | 27,022 |
| 1940 | #12 | 18,208 |
| 1930 | #9 | 20,981 |
| 1920 | #7 | 25,587 |
| 1910 | #6 | 5,228 |
| 1900 | #7 | 3,714 |
| 1890 | #7 | 2,670 |
| 1880 | #7 | 2,632 |
How popular is Joseph, counting every spelling?
Joseph is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #33 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #29 for Joseph on its own. Together these spellings went to 7,364 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph | 7,303 | #29 | 37,848 |
| Josef | 44 | #2,860 | 299 |
| Jozef | 17 | #5,493 | 88 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Joseph?
7,303 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Joseph (2.02 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Joseph born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 26. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 1 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Joseph.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Joseph?
About 1,655,100 people born in the US named Joseph are alive today, with a median age of 44; half are between 29 and 62. That makes Joseph mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Joseph by state
How common Joseph was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Jersey (2.2×), Connecticut (2.1×), Wyoming (2.0×), Vermont (2.0×), Rhode Island (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Utah, Idaho, Texas.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Joseph: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Joseph, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Joseph · Sibling names for Joseph
Questions about the name Joseph
What does Joseph mean?
Joseph means “'God will add / increase'” (Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Joseph?
Joseph was the 29th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 7,303 babies. Its best year was 1912, when it ranked 5th; the most babies were born in 1956 (32,749). Over the last ten years it has moved down 8 places. More babies were named Joseph in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Is Joseph a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Joseph in the US.
Where is Joseph most popular?
In 2021–2025, Joseph was most common in New Jersey (9.69 per 1,000 boys), followed by Connecticut and Wyoming.