Yosef
Yosef was the 665th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 413 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 606th with 470 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 44 places. More babies were named Yosef in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning may God add (Hebrew Joseph) · Hebrew
Say it YOH-sef /ˈjoʊsɛf/
- Rank in 2025
- #665 boys, up 14 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 413boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2024470 babies
- Total since 1880
- 10,612babies recorded
What does the name Yosef mean?
Yosef is the Hebrew form of Joseph. In Genesis 30:24 Rachel names her son Yosef, saying, "May God add another son for me"; the JPS translators note that the name is connected with the Hebrew verb yosef, he will add. DMNES glosses Joseph as "God will increase." The name belongs to the patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob, and to Joseph, the father of Jesus in the Gospels, as DMNES notes. In the US the Hebrew spelling has been used since the 1950s.
יוֹסֵף (Biblical Hebrew, “Joseph; he will add”)
How sure is this? Well established. The Bible's own explanation is a wordplay on 'add'; scholars accept the link.
Related names: Joseph, Yusuf, José, Giuseppe, Joe, Yossi.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God.
Sources for this meaning
- Genesis 30:24, The JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition, with translators' note (via Sefaria), Jewish Publication Society / Sefaria
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Joseph', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Yosef' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Yosef
The usual nicknames for Yosef are Yossi. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Yosef in the last five years, 11 were named Yossi, against 4 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yossi | Traditional | #2,388 | 232 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Yosefs go by each one.
Yosef popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #665 | 413 |
| 2020 | #679 | 379 |
| 2010 | #778 | 287 |
| 2000 | #1,024 | 143 |
| 1990 | #1,110 | 94 |
| 1980 | #1,474 | 43 |
| 1970 | #2,397 | 16 |
| 1960 | #2,533 | 12 |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Yosef, counting every spelling?
Yosef is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #626 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #665 for Yosef on its own. Together these spellings went to 440 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yosef | 413 | #665 | 2,168 |
| Yoseph | 20 | #5,038 | 101 |
| Yossef | 7 | #10,655 | 36 |
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 Yosef?
413 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Yosef (0.11 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Yosef born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 20 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Yosef.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Yosef?
About 10,400 people born in the US named Yosef are alive today, with a median age of 14; half are between 7 and 24. That makes Yosef mostly worn by children and young adults.
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.
Yosef by state
How common Yosef was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Jersey (12.8×), New York (8.6×), Maryland (1.7×). In 38 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Yosef: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Yosef, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Yosef · Sibling names for Yosef
Questions about the name Yosef
What does Yosef mean?
Yosef means “may God add (Hebrew Joseph)” (Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Yosef?
Yosef was the 665th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 413 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 606th with 470 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 44 places. More babies were named Yosef in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Yosef a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Yosef in the US.
Where is Yosef most popular?
In 2021–2025, Yosef was most common in New Jersey (3.20 per 1,000 boys), followed by New York and Maryland.