Joseph Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Boy Names Like Joseph

Joseph Name Origin: Hebrew
Pronunciation: jo-sef
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Joseph Name Meaning

Joseph has been an enduring classic on the baby name charts, a long-time favorite with an appeal similar to William and James. He’s timeless in his use and never dated, fitting countless generations of men from infancy to adulthood with ease.

Derived from the Hebrew name Yosef meaning “He will add,” Joseph is a Hebrew name rich with biblical ties. He appears as the husband of Mary, mother of Jesus, as well as a disciple who offered the tomb for Jesus’ body to lie in wait of resurrection. He also appears in the Book of Genesis as one of Jacob’s sons.

Joseph has also been the name of kings, leaders, sports stars, and more, successfully transferring to everyday use outside of biblical texts unlike Ebenezer or Esau. Joseph is no doubt strong, remaining mighty despite years of solid use. A little Joseph won’t be weighed down with heavy expectation, as the name is relatively free from associations and connotations. Joseph could be a world-famous pilot or painter, whatever he chooses.

Joseph has a number of spunky nicknames like Joe, Joey, Jojo, and the unexpected Seph. There are quite a few variants of Joseph including Josef, Giuseppe, and Jozef. Joseph also has female variants including Josephine, Josephina, and Jody.

Joseph Name Popularity

How popular is the name Joseph? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	6	5,226	1.4843%
1911	6	6,481	1.7404%
1912	5	12,058	2.3911%
1913	5	14,467	2.5516%
1914	5	18,829	2.7018%
1915	5	23,052	2.5372%
1916	5	23,883	2.4724%
1917	5	24,762	2.4751%
1918	7	26,263	2.4471%
1919	7	24,264	2.3172%
1920	7	25,591	2.3016%
1921	7	26,180	2.2863%
1922	7	25,700	2.3068%
1923	7	25,560	2.2821%
1924	7	25,426	2.1895%
1925	7	24,615	2.1778%
1926	8	23,762	2.1604%
1927	9	23,504	2.1234%
1928	9	22,306	2.0847%
1929	9	21,164	2.0432%
1930	9	20,981	2.0086%
1931	9	19,331	1.9586%
1932	9	18,560	1.8786%
1933	9	17,161	1.842%
1934	10	17,103	1.7692%
1935	10	17,182	1.7681%
1936	11	17,449	1.8114%
1937	12	17,316	1.7573%
1938	12	17,734	1.7323%
1939	12	17,713	1.7413%
1940	12	18,205	1.7128%
1941	12	19,800	1.7592%
1942	11	22,421	1.7756%
1943	13	22,817	1.7478%
1944	13	21,170	1.7081%
1945	14	20,816	1.7068%
1946	14	24,279	1.6454%
1947	14	27,513	1.6482%
1948	13	26,804	1.6791%
1949	14	26,410	1.6418%
1950	13	27,026	1.6785%
1951	14	28,156	1.6606%
1952	12	28,524	1.6341%
1953	13	29,258	1.6532%
1954	13	31,201	1.7068%
1955	13	31,604	1.7182%
1956	12	32,715	1.7321%
1957	12	31,806	1.6529%
1958	12	30,095	1.5924%
1959	13	29,523	1.5539%
1960	12	29,746	1.5699%
1961	12	29,445	1.5596%
1962	13	30,083	1.6386%
1963	13	30,101	1.6769%
1964	11	30,550	1.7356%
1965	11	28,660	1.7526%
1966	15	26,991	1.7287%
1967	15	25,940	1.7093%
1968	16	25,401	1.6916%
1969	15	26,187	1.6998%
1970	16	26,732	1.6798%
1971	15	24,517	1.6315%
1972	12	22,469	1.6497%
1973	12	21,328	1.6451%
1974	12	21,838	1.6802%
1975	12	22,142	1.7231%
1976	12	24,072	1.8677%
1977	10	26,492	1.9654%
1978	10	26,668	1.9836%
1979	11	28,667	2.0331%
1980	10	30,202	2.0656%
1981	11	30,772	2.0934%
1982	11	31,047	2.0776%
1983	11	30,456	2.0639%
1984	10	30,512	2.0511%
1985	10	30,213	1.9905%
1986	12	28,833	1.9101%
1987	12	28,510	1.8683%
1988	12	29,003	1.8611%
1989	11	29,869	1.851%
1990	10	30,127	1.8177%
1991	9	29,835	1.8304%
1992	11	27,894	1.7476%
1993	12	27,007	1.7323%
1994	11	25,728	1.6765%
1995	12	25,345	1.6817%
1996	12	24,754	1.6532%
1997	12	23,589	1.5949%
1998	11	23,178	1.5486%
1999	8	23,210	1.5499%
2000	8	22,825	1.4942%
2001	8	22,004	1.4604%
2002	7	21,891	1.4608%
2003	6	21,361	1.4041%
2004	9	20,123	1.3203%
2005	9	19,210	1.2564%
2006	11	18,440	1.1777%
2007	13	17,333	1.0986%
2008	13	16,571	1.0722%
2009	15	14,914	0.9978%
2010	20	13,825	0.9593%
2011	22	12,964	0.9099%
2012	19	12,553	0.8809%
2013	20	12,231	0.8591%
2014	20	12,106	0.8309%
2015	21	11,471	0.7884%
2016	20	10,892	0.7554%
2017	19	10,360	0.7423%
2018	23	9,555	0.6955%
2019	24	9,058	0.6691%
2020	26	8,246	0.6478%
2021	28	8,067	0.6599%
2022	31	7,665	0.581%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Joseph

If you like Joseph, you’ll love these other names like Joseph.

What names are diminutives of Joseph?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Joseph sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Joseph, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Jo	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Jodi	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Jodie	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Jody	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Joe	A diminutive form of Joseph.	English
Joey	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Jojo	Short form of Joseph	English
Joop	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Joos	Jehovah increases; just, upright, righteous	Latin
Joss	A member of the Germanic tribe, the Gauts	German
Pepe	Jehovah increases	Spanish
Pepito	Jehovah increases	Spanish
Peppi	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Pino	Jehovah increases	Hebrew

Pipo	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Sepp	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Seppi	Jehovah increases	Hebrew

What names are variants of Joseph?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Joseph.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Giuseppe	An Italian form of Joseph.	Italian
Giuseppino	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Iosef		Russian
Iosep	God will multiply	Hebrew
Iosif	Jehovah increases	Russian
Iosip	Jehovah increases	Russian
Jessup	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Jose	Jehovah will increase	Spanish
Josef	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Joseito	Jehovah increases	Spanish
Joselito	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josep	Jehovah increases	Hebrew

Josephe	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josephus	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josif	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josip	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josue	God is salvation	Spanish
Jozef	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Osip	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Yousef	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Yusif	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Yussuf	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Yusuf	God increases	Hebrew
Yuszef	Jehovah increases	Hebrew

What names sound like Joseph?

If you like how Joseph sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Joseph.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Joshua	God is salvation	Hebrew
Josiah	God supports	Hebrew
Josue	God is salvation	Spanish

Jovan	Form of John	Slavic
Jovani		Latin
Jovany		Latin

What names are similar to Joseph?

Find a name that’s like Joseph, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin
David	Beloved	Hebrew
Isaac	He will laugh	Hebrew
James	Supplanter	English
John	God is gracious	Hebrew
Luke	From Lucania	Greek
Mark	Dedicated to Mars	Latin
Matthew	Gift of God	Hebrew
Michael	Who is Like God?	Hebrew
Peter	Stone	Greek
Samuel	Name of God	Hebrew

Lists With Joseph

Find inspiration in these baby boy name lists featuring the name Joseph.

Siblings of Joseph

Mamas with kids named Joseph also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender
Anastasia	Resurrection	Greek
Elisia	From the blessed isles	Latin

Ryan	Little king	Irish
Katiana	Form of Katherine	European
Vincent	Conquer	Latin
Mikayla	Who is like God?	American
Mikey	Who resembles God?	Hebrew
Brianna	High and noble	Irish
Brenda	Sword	Scandinavian
Miles	Soldier	Latin
Carolyn	Free man	German
Rashad	Good judgment	Arabic
Vada
Bridget	Exalted one	Gaelic
James	Supplanter	English
John	God is gracious	Hebrew
Edmund	Wealthy protector	English

Moriah	The hill country	Hebrew
Lucia	Of the light	Italian

Share Your Thoughts

48 Comments

Christina Dec 13 at 7:19 pm

Joseph is a family name on my husband’s side. I had a cabbage patch kid named Joey as a child that I took with me EVERYWHERE. I like the nicknames and how they progress as he grows.

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Molly Nov 14 at 11:27 am

Named after my father, with love.

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Jacqueline Sep 12 at 11:39 am

I love ir

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Stephanie Sep 6 at 9:12 am

We chose Joseph to honor my husband’s older brother, who passed away in infancy.

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Theresa Aug 3 at 6:59 am

Named after his father. Same first name but different middle name. Middle name is maternal great grandfather’s middle name.

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melissa Mar 18 at 10:23 am

Joseph is a name on both sides of the family. We love old names with meaning and history.

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Joseph Mar 7 at 9:06 am

Named after father. Like that is a biblical name. It is a slightly longer name where you’ll probably end up with nicknames.

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Amanda Feb 8 at 7:29 pm

Joseph is my dad’s middle name. Another amazing Joseph is also the earthly father of Jesus and husband to Mama Mary. My husband’s thought process was that he shares a name with his favorite hockey player growing up: Joe Sakic. Our son’s middle name is Peter, another strong Biblical name and another famous hockey player. My husband doesn’t like the nickname Joey, so it will be Joseph or Joe. We also went with this name because our oldest is John Patrick, so we can reuse the monogrammed baby items! haha

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Jakki Jan 25 at 8:59 am

We named our son Joseph after my husband’s grandfather’s first name and my grandfather’s middle name. In Judaism, you name children after people who have passed on. It’s a nice way to keep their memory and name alive through the generations. Joseph’s first and middle name does just that!

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Janine Apr 26 at 11:38 am

Named after St. Joseph a huge intercession for our family 🙂

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madalyn Jan 30 at 11:12 am

I had an unassisted home birth. My husband was nervous ( of course ) but I kept reminding him how Joseph ( Jesus’ foster father ) would have probably been equally as nervous. When Joseph was born he remained nameless for 3 days. On the third day we put three names into a toque, prayed, and both pulled out the name Joseph. Picked by us, chosen by God.

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Melissa Wiseman Jan 17 at 6:30 am

I named him Joseph after my dad and my uncle Joe the reason I named him Joseph well I love the name and my uncle walked me down the Alley in honor of my dad and it happened to be my dad’s name to. I love everything about him.and Joseph is already starting to walk he is growing up way to fast

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Joseph Dec 14 at 3:52 am

I admit that I used to hate my name when I was a kid and even more when I learned that my mom just randomly picked my name from the Torah portion at the time I was born (was born right after Hanukkah) because I was 7 months premature and with Hanukkah just concluded, obviously she was still in the hang of it and wasn’t expecting me. As I grew older, I learned to make peace with my name and as an irreligious Jew myself, I like the fact that my name, despite its religious origins, carries more neutral tone compared to say Zachary, Mordecai or Moses.

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Joseph Aug 19 at 8:47 am

My mum had a vision that appeared to her time an again while she was expecting me… meaning that she was pregnant and her days to deliver were nearer. In the vision a voice would come and quote Matthew 1 verse 1,the lineage of Jesus Christ. After she gave birth my uncle was told that the baby is a boy and he said i should be called Joseph. Am the third born… first is a woman, second Men and third it’s me…. God was adding another boy.

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Stephanie Apr 8 at 2:18 am

Named after my grandfather and my husband’s dad. My husband’s family also has a thing with the boys having the initials JAE

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Raquel Dec 25 at 5:53 pm

It’s my husband and Grandpa’s name.

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Nneka Onwe Dec 18 at 1:02 am

I’m not sure right now

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Clarissa Nov 5 at 8:10 am

We thought of the name Joseph because of the Bible. But we chose it because we like it as a name and because we like the meaning. It means “God will increase” or “God will provide”. God has always provided for my husband and I and we prayed for a baby and He also provided. That’s why the name meaning of Joseph means so much to us.

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Jordin Aug 31 at 3:05 am

Joseph was chosen as a family name.

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Marleen Aug 4 at 7:22 am

My fianc? always wanted a junior so we decided to name him after his dad.

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Sara Jul 23 at 4:54 pm

My husband’s grandfather’s name. We wanted to honor his memory and it’s a classic boy name.

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Karina May 8 at 10:17 am

We decided to honor a family member on both sides. His first name, Joseph, is for his father’s brother while his middle name, Henry, is for my father

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Nicole Oct 9 at 8:16 pm

His daddy named him. His best friend name is Joseph. And he loves his best friend and told him if we had a boy he would be a little Joseph.
I love the name. And it fits my son perfectly

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Mama Oct 5 at 9:43 am

Biblical name , loved the meaning and named after his father

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Kathryn Morris Sep 12 at 1:52 pm

We chose Joseph after St. Joseph the foster father of Jesus.

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- Joseph Aug 17 at 8:20 am
  
  My name is Joseph and I am 9 years old.
  
  Reply
  - Joseph Gilligan Feb 27 at 8:53 am
    
    Hello Joseph. I’m in Glasgow Scotland UK. Hope you like your name. People now call me Joe.
    
    Reply
Ilona Aug 3 at 10:11 am

Because it’s named out the bible

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Elise Jul 25 at 8:01 pm

We chose the name because we loved the meaning of Joseph – ‘the Lord increases’

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Teresa miller May 9 at 12:14 pm

It’s a family name all my boys first and/or middle names are family names

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Kristen Apr 16 at 7:49 am

I chose my sons name because in the Bible joseph was stuck in a well nd was enslaved but overcame all obstacles to become king one day. It’s a strong nd determined name.

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Tera Mar 14 at 12:18 am

I choose the name Joseph after both my own loving father and my father in law who passed away when I was 4 month along and his middle name warren after my best friend who passed

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Keturah Mar 12 at 6:56 pm

Our baby was named after my husband’s uncle who had passed away suddenly and his middle name is after my father. My husband and I wanted to have a sentimental name for our first born son.

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Cynthia Payne Feb 17 at 8:26 am

I named my son after his dad and Grandpa

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Lauren Feb 11 at 4:16 pm

He is perfect. I love everything about him!

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Mama Dec 15 at 1:11 pm

Love the Bible story of Joseph in the Old Testament! So inspiring!

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Theresa Dec 4 at 3:56 pm

My husband Josh and I are both nerdy gamers and wanted to pick a nerdy name but one that was subtle because he has to live with this name. We both agreed on them but Josh chose the first name and I chose the middle name. Joseph is the name of a character from a show called Jojo’s Bizarre adventure and so Josephs nickname is Jojo. His middle name is Dahn which is Scottish in origin but also has some subtle nerdiness from a show called One Piece. Honestly the only thing I dislike about him being named Jospeh and it is super small is that several people end up calling him Josh cause all they can remember is that it starts with a J and so does my husband’s.

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Nikki Nov 25 at 1:00 pm

I chose the name Joseph, after my best friend Kayin Jo was unfortunately killed in a car accident at the young age of 19.

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Desirée Aug 27 at 10:23 am

I chose it in church! First time he kicked so hard I shot up and they were talking about Joseph. I figured he liked that name. I love the strong biblical name but dislike the nicknames that come with it. Joseph is such a happy happy baby. Always smiling. All day. I love it!

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- Amanda May 8 at 3:16 pm
  
  Our Joseph is incredibly happy, too. We call him Joseph 🙂
  
  Reply
Justine Aug 27 at 7:04 am

My husband’s father’s name is Joseph and he passed a long time ago.

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Jamie Etheridge Jun 24 at 12:53 pm

Named after my great grandfather

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Ada Jun 22 at 4:05 am

Joseph is a smart little boy. He so tough. He had open heart surgery at 4months old asv defect. Amd his lwft vaule redone. Dr said he wouldn’t be able to go home for 4weeks. Cause he has down syndrome. But he went home the falling week. Plus he had hand surgery. He is 16 month and he amazing.

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Lauren Jun 21 at 1:20 am

Husband and I both agreed this was his name the same day he was born. Hebrew biblical name. We didn’t know if he would be a boy or a girl so we couldn’t really decide on a name until then and until we saw him. At first I was unsure and scared what people might think of his name but as he’s gotten older I love it. It fits him so perfectly. My cutsie baby Joseph seems to have a very calm, wise, and cautious character already even in his young age of almost one. Looking forward to seeing how his name grows on him.

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Karine Jun 14 at 12:44 pm

I was looking for a classic name that would go well with my first born son’s name, Vincent. After discovering that there are Josephs in both our ancestries we decided it was perfect. We also likes the nicknames Vince and Jo. They will be best buds for sure!

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Erica Jun 8 at 10:03 pm

He is named after my grandfather. He and my grandma raised me from birth.

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Yasmine Jun 8 at 2:05 pm

It has always been very important to me to honor wonderful family members’ names and to carry them on when I had children. My husband and I discussed potential baby names when we were still just dating. Now, years later when we found out we were having a boy, we were thrilled to be naming him after one of the kindest, best men I’d ever known: my grandfather. My son has a wonderful name, and we’ll raise him to be a wonderful, amazing, compassionate human being! I’m so thankful that we named our baby boy after my grandfather. A name with a history.

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Brianna Apr 13 at 12:55 pm

It was manly sounding, from the Bible and we liked how it fit God expanding our family.

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Joseph