Joseph
Boy nameJoseph has been given to 2,680,213 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1956 and currently ranks #29 for boys (2025).
Meaning & origin /ˈd͡ʒəʊzɪf/
From Middle English Ioseph, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew יוֹסֵף (Yoséf, literally “(God) shall add”); a son of Jacob. Doublet of Yusuf. Lua error in Module:senseno at line 505: Could not find senseid, tcl, etymon, etymid template in the entry API (with language en and id 'one whose chastity is above temptation'); this could be because you are in preview mode and the template has not yet been saved to the page is a reference to the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife in Genesis 39.
Origin: Hebrew
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
2,680,213
Peak year
1956 (32,832 babies)
Rank in 2025
#29 for boys
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▼ -37%
Gender split
0% girls / 100% boys
Famous people named Joseph
Joe Biden
46th President of the United States (2021–2025)
Benedict XVI
265 th pope of the Catholic Church (2005–2013)
Rudyard Kipling
English writer and poet (1865–1936)
Joseph Fourier
French mathematician and physicist (1768 – 1830)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Joseph.
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