Boy · Hebrew
Joseph
Say it: JOH-sif
Meaning
From Hebrew Yosef 'he will add', i.e. may God add another son.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Common across Catholic Europe and among the most-used boys' names in the United States since records began in 1880.
Its wave through time
Timeless: in steady use for over a century
In the United States
- 2,641,826 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1914, about 1 in 35 boys
- 8,358 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100
- The Early Middle Ages400 to 800
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- The Colonial Americas1500 to 1800
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
HebrewEarly ChristianEnglishAmericanFrenchSpanishItalianPortugueseGermanPolishHungarianRussianIrish
The family of the name
| French | Joseph |
|---|---|
| Spanish | José |
| Italian | Giuseppe |
| Portuguese | José |
| German | Josef |
| Polish | Józef |
| Russian | Iosif |
| Hungarian | József |
Famous bearers
- Joseph, son of Jacob
- Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
- Calendars of saints and name days
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.