Joseph

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

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.

From Wikipedia

Joseph first appears in the data in 1952 and has been recorded in 74 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 2016 with 998 babies (rank #48 that year). In 2025 it was given to 377 boys (rank #46). The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Joseph

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Joseph yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

1Destiny numberThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
11Soul urgeThe visionary (master)Intuitive and inspirational — a heightened 2.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
8PersonalityThe achieverDriven, capable, comfortable wielding influence.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

23,029

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

998

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In Bible: Joseph — coat of many colours
In Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain: Joseph — the jealous café regular

Famous people named Joseph

Joseph Haydnindependent publisher · b. 1732
Joseph GoebbelsHolocaust perpetrator · b. 1897
Joseph Fouriermathematician · b. 1768
Joseph Conradslave driver · b. 1857
Joseph John Thomsonuniversity teacher · b. 1856

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Joseph in 2025

Other boys' names starting with J

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1952	122	#62
1953	115	#61
1954	103	#64
1955	131	#59
1956	147	#52
1957	150	#58
1958	145	#61
1959	156	#57
1960	188	#66
1961	208	#66
1962	228	#60
1963	226	#61
1964	215	#60
1965	246	#55
1966	216	#65
1967	229	#58
1968	252	#55
1969	201	#68
1970	227	#58
1971	233	#64
1972	237	#58
1973	215	#60
1974	219	#57
1975	217	#56
1976	213	#56
1977	243	#51
1978	270	#50
1979	271	#46
1980	259	#48
1981	273	#51
1982	313	#43
1983	286	#49
1984	327	#43
1985	328	#42
1986	309	#44
1987	307	#45
1988	353	#42
1989	385	#37
1990	344	#46
1991	409	#38
1992	422	#40
1993	429	#38
1994	458	#33
1995	369	#46
1996	447	#36
1997	426	#37
1998	371	#40
1999	398	#37
2000	398	#37
2001	394	#36
2002	391	#36
2003	378	#39
2004	373	#38
2005	419	#35
2006	249	#37
2007	225	#41
2008	355	#45
2009	303	#52
2010	289	#56
2011	308	#49
2012	293	#56
2013	306	#54
2014	315	#57
2015	952	#55
2016	998	#48
2017	409	#59
2018	393	#59
2019	545	#57
2020	372	#58
2021	337	#46
2022	248	#58
2023	244	#58
2024	322	#62
2025	377	#46