ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1880 First Year 2026 Last Year 1985 Peak Year #465 Peak Rank 11K Total Count 146 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Joseph What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef. "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic countries. In Portuguese and Spanish, the name is "José". In Arabic, including in the Quran, the name is spelled يوسف, Yūsuf. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph) 📜Etymology The Bible offers two explanations for the origins of the name Yosef : first, it is compared to the word asaf from the root /'sp/, ' taken away ' : "And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach"; Yosef is then identified with the similar root /ysp/, meaning ' add ' : "And she called his name Joseph; and said, The L ORD shall add to me another son." The Jewish Encyclopedia says that it is a theophoric name referencing the Tetragrammaton , and in fact his name is spelled Jehoseph , with the theophoric first syllable 'Jeho' , once in Psalms. The name can also consis [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Joseph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Peter_von_Cornelius_002.jpg/330px-Peter_von_Cornelius_002.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph) 📖 ## The Story of Joseph Joseph first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 2,632 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1956, when 32,748 Josephs were born — ranking #12 that year. As of 2026, Joseph ranks #34 for baby boys with 6,870 births, falling sharply (-21%). In total, more than 2.7M Josephs have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🎶 ## Names that sound like Joseph Phonetically similar names — useful when Joseph is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Josef](/josef) * [Jozef](/jozef) * [Josa](/josa) * [Yosef](/yosef) * [Yoseph](/yoseph) * Josephs * [Josepha](/josepha) * [Josue](/josue) * [Jessa](/jessa) * Gisa * Jassa * Joso Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Joseph What does the name Joseph mean? Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef. "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic countries. In Portuguese and Spanish, the name is "José". In Arabic, including in the Quran, the name is spelled يوسف, Yūsuf. How popular is Joseph in 2026? In 2026, Joseph ranks #34 among boys' names in the U.S., with 6,870 babies given the name that year. When was Joseph most popular? Joseph reached its peak popularity in 1956, ranking #5 that year with 32,748 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Joseph most popular? Joseph has historically been most popular in Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Joseph. Is Joseph a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Joseph is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name. What names go well with Joseph? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Joseph include Richard, Andrew, Daniel. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧TessPeak #465](/tess)[👧ShandaPeak #465](/shanda)[👧LonniePeak #466](/lonnie)[👧ZadaPeak #466](/zada)[👧ElveraPeak #464](/elvera)[👧LyraPeak #464](/lyra)[👧MariPeak #464](/mari)[👧RosalindaPeak #464](/rosalinda) ## About the name Joseph Joseph is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 2.7M births in the dataset. Joseph's peak popularity came in 1956 when it ranked #5\. Use the chart and map above to compare Joseph's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1956 → ](/year/1956) * [ Names of the 1950s → ](/decade/1950s) * [ Names starting with "J" → ](/letter/j) * [ Browse all boy names → ](/names/boys) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.