Jos

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Kos in HR Croatia, SI Slovenia, AR Argentina and 1 more, Coz in FR France, PH Philippines, PE Peru, Coş in TR Türkiye and Cos in MX Mexico.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 20 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Jos is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name88K records spelled Jos17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Spain, Mexico, United States

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Jös, Jo'S, Jò'S, Jós, Jõš

• French given name35K records spelled Jos3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Belgium, France, United States, Spain

  Also written Jo'S

• a separate given name5.8K records spelled Jos3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Netherlands, India, Belgium

  Also written Jós, Jōs

65 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Jos is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• ,2 Short form of Joseph, Josiah, or pJocelyn. Josceline ° Variant of Jocelyn as a girl’s name.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In Romanian, adv. 1. Giosu, N., act. ; Josul fain. 2. Josea (16 B I 439). 3. Josan (Ard) ; Jos /ani, eni ss. ; -escu ; Giosan, Tanasie (Sd VI) ; - ul (CL) ; s. (ib.). Joseni", locuitorii din Tara de Jos" din Moldova ; Giosa, Mate', din Giosani (Bir IV). Jovardan v. Javerdan 4 a.

  as a name·Dictionar Onomastic Rominesc

• In German, ) Joss: männl. Vom., verselbststän­ digte Kurzform von

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

• In roa-oca, alternative form of jus (“down”)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Hausa, Jos (a city, the state capital of Plateau State, Nigeria)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

MX CDMX — Nombres registrados en Registro Civil (2000–present) — 22 years between 2000–2021. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Jos Cuypersb. 1861NLDutch architect (1861-1949)
• Jos van Kemenadeb. 1937NLDutch politician (1937-2020)
• Jos Stellingb. 1945NLDutch film director and screenwriter (born 1945)
• Jos Van Immerseelb. 1945BEFlemish harpsichordist, pianist and conductor
• Jos Hermensb. 1950NLDutch long-distance runner
• Jos de Putterb. 1959NLDutch film director
• Jos Luhukayb. 1963NLDutch footballer and manager
• Jos Verstappenb. 1972NLDutch racing driver
• Jos Hooiveldb. 1983NLDutch footballer
• Jos Buttlerb. 1990AUEnglish cricketer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 218 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Jos?

We estimate roughly 7.5 thousand people bear Jos (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Jos have the most bearers?

Jos is most frequently recorded in France, where it is most often spelled coz.

Where is Jos most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Jos is densest in the Netherlands — about 1 in 3.1 thousand people — even though France holds more of our records for it.

How common is Jos compared with other names?

In the Netherlands, Jos is the 784th most common given name of 134,847 given names recorded there.

Is Jos a male or female name?

Jos is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Jos mean?

Recorded meaning: Nigerian place name: capital of Benue-Plateau State in north-central Nigeria.