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.

Infographic of Joseph name meaning, which is Meaning Jehovah will increase, Joseph is a name of Hebrew origins.
Ask your friends & family about Joseph…

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%

Alaska (AK)

Alabama (AL)

Arkansas (AR)

Arizona (AZ)

California (CA)

Colorado (CO)

Connecticut (CT)

District of Columbia (DC)

Delaware (DE)

Florida (FL)

Georgia (GA)

Hawaii (HI)

Iowa (IA)

Idaho (ID)

Illinois (IL)

Indiana (IN)

Kansas (KS)

Kentucky (KY)

Louisiana (LA)

Massachusetts (MA)

Maryland (MD)

Maine (ME)

Michigan (MI)

Minnesota (MN)

Missouri (MO)

Mississippi (MS)

Montana (MT)

North Carolina (NC)

North Dakota (ND)

Nebraska (NE)

New Hampshire (NH)

New Jersey (NJ)

New Mexico (NM)

Nevada (NV)

New York (NY)

Ohio (OH)

Oklahoma (OK)

Oregon (OR)

Pennsylvania (PA)

Rhode Island (RI)

South Carolina (SC)

South Dakota (SD)

Tennessee (TN)

Texas (TX)

Utah (UT)

Virginia (VA)

Vermont (VT)

Washington (WA)

Wisconsin (WI)

West Virginia (WV)

Wyoming (WY)

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 Popularity Other Gender
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 Popularity Other Gender
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 Popularity Other Gender
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 Popularity Other Gender
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

46 Comments

  1. I love ir

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

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

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

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

  6. 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

  7. 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!

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

  9. 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.

  10. 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

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

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

  14. It’s my husband and Grandpa’s name.

  15. I’m not sure right now

  16. 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.

  17. Joseph was chosen as a family name.

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

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

  20. 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

  21. 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

  22. Biblical name , loved the meaning and named after his father

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

    • My name is Joseph and I am 9 years old.

      • Hello Joseph. I’m in Glasgow Scotland UK. Hope you like your name. People now call me Joe.

  24. Because it’s named out the bible

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

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

  27. 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.

  28. 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

  29. 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.

  30. I named my son after his dad and Grandpa

  31. He is perfect. I love everything about him!

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

  33. 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.

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

  35. 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!

    • Our Joseph is incredibly happy, too. We call him Joseph 🙂

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

  37. Named after my great grandfather

  38. 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.

  39. 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.

  40. 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!

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

  42. 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.

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


Share your thoughts on the name Joseph

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required *

*