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 1996 and has been recorded in 29 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1996 with 6,193 babies (rank #8 that year). In 2024 it was given to 946 boys (rank #56). 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.

102,259

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

6,193

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 2024

Other boys' names starting with J

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1996	6,193	#8
1997	5,809	#8
1998	5,411	#9
1999	5,875	#8
2000	5,877	#7
2001	5,256	#8
2002	5,051	#8
2003	4,828	#10
2004	5,030	#10
2005	4,523	#10
2006	4,279	#11
2007	3,871	#13
2008	3,764	#13
2009	3,613	#14
2010	3,496	#15
2011	3,089	#18
2012	3,074	#22
2013	3,225	#19
2014	3,041	#19
2015	2,786	#21
2016	2,506	#22
2017	2,153	#28
2018	1,989	#27
2019	1,678	#35
2020	1,437	#38
2021	1,307	#46
2022	1,158	#50
2023	994	#54
2024	946	#56