Josiah
Josiah is a masculine given name derived from the Hebrew Yoshi-yahu (Hebrew: יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ, Modern: Yošiyyáhu, Tiberian: Yôšiyyāhû, "Yahweh has healed".
Meaning & Origin of Josiah
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Josiah is a masculine given name derived from the Hebrew Yoshi-yahu (Hebrew: יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ, Modern: Yošiyyáhu, Tiberian: Yôšiyyāhû, "Yahweh has healed".
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Josiah
Josiah first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 26 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2017, when 7,073 Josiahs were born — ranking #51 that year. As of 2026, Josiah ranks #58 for baby boys with 5,228 births, falling sharply (-17%). In total, more than 154K Josiahs have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Josiah
Phonetically similar names — useful when Josiah is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Josiah
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About the name Josiah
Josiah is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 154K births in the dataset. Josiah's peak popularity came in 2017 when it ranked #45. Use the chart and map above to compare Josiah's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2017 →
- Names of the 2010s →
- Names starting with "J" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . 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 (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
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.