Joseph

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Jose in BR Brazil, ES Spain, VE Venezuela and 10 more, Josef in CZ Czechia, Jozef in PL Poland and Giuseppe in IT Italy.

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 21 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◐

Joseph is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name745K records spelled Joseph4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Jose-Ph, Joséph, Josèph

• Hindi given name639K records spelled Joseph44 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, United Kingdom, Nigeria

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu, Bangla

  Also written Josef, Josep, Josefa, যোসেফ, জোসেফ

• Chinese given name146K records spelled Joseph10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Myanmar (Burma)

  Languages: Chinese, Burmese

  Also written Joséph, Ĵoseph, Ĵòśépĥ, Jõsëph, Jöseph

• Indonesian given name118K records spelled Joseph5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Joseph, Josêph, Ĵoşéph

• a separate given name88K records spelled Joseph8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Spain, United Kingdom, India

  Also written J̵́̕o̸̽̕s̶̑̆̏̚ë̴̩́̽͑ṕ̵̛̓̉h̵̉, Ĵȫṧęph, Jösêph, Joseph̶, Joséph

156 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●

Joseph 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.

• The name Joseph is Hebrew (Yosef) for 'He will add' or 'God increases'. Barsabbas is an Aramaic patronymic meaning 'son of Sabba' or 'son of the Sabbath'. Justus is a Latin cognomen meaning 'the just' or 'the righteous', likely given to him because of his reputation for integrity.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Joseph is a timeless biblical name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God will add" or "he will increase." In the New Testament, Joseph of Arimathea is remembered as the brave and wealthy disciple who honored Jesus by providing his own tomb for His burial.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Joseph is a timeless name of Hebrew origin meaning 'He will add.' The name carries a legacy of quiet strength, integrity, and faithfulness, as embodied by Saint Joseph, the devoted earthly father of Jesus who was a protector and a righteous man.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Justus is a strong, classic name of Latin origin meaning 'just' or 'righteous.' In the Bible, Joseph Justus was a respected early follower of Jesus, known for his integrity and considered for the high honor of being an apostle.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• As an ancestor of Jesus in the Lukan genealogy, Joseph's significance is in establishing Jesus's physical descent from King David and his connection to the history of Israel, thereby affirming his messianic credentials.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

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●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Paul Doumerb. 1857FRnot in their usual nameFrench statesman (1857–1932)
• Jean Jaurèsb. 1859FRnot in their usual nameFrench / Occitan socialist leader (1859-1914)
• Buster Keatonb. 1895USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor, comedian, and director (1895–1966)
• Mickey Rooneyb. 1920USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor (1920–2014)
• Jean Chrétienb. 1934CAnot in their usual nameprime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003
• Bruce Springsteenb. 1949USnot in their usual nameAmerican rock singer (born 1949)
• Joseph Konyb. 1961UGUgandan Leader of the Lord's Resistance Army
• Ryan Giggsb. 1973GBnot in their usual nameWelsh association football player and coach
• David Beckhamb. 1975GBnot in their usual nameEnglish footballer (born 1975)
• Joe Lockeb. 2003IMnot in their usual nameManx actor

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 · 2,606 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Joseph?

We estimate roughly 9.8 million people bear Joseph (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Joseph have the most bearers?

Joseph is most frequently recorded in Venezuela, where it is most often spelled jose.

How common is Joseph compared with other names?

In Venezuela, Joseph is the most common given name of 213,120 given names recorded there.

Is Joseph a male or female name?

Joseph 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 Joseph mean?

Recorded meaning: From the male personal name Joseph, from Hebrew Yosef, literally “may he add”.