Joseph

Hebrew

"Jehovah increases"

Joseph Origin and Meaning

The name Joseph is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Jehovah increases".

Joseph is one of the most classic names in American nomenclature, popular with parents from many ethnic backgrounds and having dual-religious appeal.

The warm and friendly nickname Joe is the all-time regular guy name, as in Joe Blow, G.I. Joe, etc., celebrated in songs like 'Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe.' Joe is frequently used on its own, as Kate Winslet did for her son.

Joseph evolved from the Hebrew name Yosef, which was derived from the verb yasaf, meaning "to increase." In the Old Testament, Joseph is the 11th and favorite son of Jacob and Rachel; in the New Testament, it is the name of the carpenter husband of the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ.

Along with Joe, Joey is a usual short form. Variations of Joseph are popular worldwide, including Jose, Giuseppe and Josef, The most popular feminine form of Joseph is Josephine, but Joanna and Joanne are also found today for girls, along with Josie and Jo.

Joseph Rank in US Top 1000

# 29 in the US

Joseph Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 153 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Joseph

• 29 US 2023
• 153 Nameberry 2025
• 64 Canada 2023
• 36 Future 2035
• 54 England 2023
• 82 Scotland 2024
• 70 Ireland 2024
• 65 Australia 2024
• 48 New Zealand 2024
• 86 France 2023
• 164 Germany 2016
• 48 Sweden 2016

20 Names Similar to Joseph

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Joseph.

• David
• John
• Christopher
• Robert
• Andrew
• Adam
• Matthew
• Michael
• Daniel
• Timothy
• Patrick
• Nicholas
• Paul
• Jonathan
• Anthony
• Peter
• Joshua
• Thomas
• Stephen
• Samuel

Famous People Named Joseph

• Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden 47th U.S. Vice President and 46th U.S. President,elect
• Joseph eleventh son of Jacob in the Bible
• Saint Joseph husband of Mary
• Joseph I Holy Roman Emperor
• Joseph II (Joseph Benedikt Anton Michael Adam) Holy Roman Emperor
• Joseph I King of Portugal
• Joseph Napoléon Bonaparte, King of Naples and Sicily
• Joseph of the sons of Bani (Ezra 10:42)
• Joseph Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jugashvili) Soviet dictator
• Joseph Jacques Cesaire Joffre French general in WWI
• Joseph Brant or Thayendanegea Mohawk leader
• Joseph Smith American religious leader of the Restoration Movement
• Joseph "Joe" Louis (Barrow) American boxer
• Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio American baseball player
• Joseph Mary Plunkett Irish revolutionary leader and signatory
• Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman U.S. Senator from Connecticut
• Joseph Leonard Gordon Levitt, American actor
• Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson American talent manager; father of the Jackson musical family
• Joseph Dalton Hooker English botanist
• Joseph John Campbell American mythologist and writer
• Joseph Albert Campbell American founder of Campbell's Soup
• Joseph Kabila (Kabange) president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Joseph Adam "Joe" Jonas American musician
• Joseph Anthony "Joey" Barton English footballer
• Joseph Levitch birth name of comedian and actor Jerry Lewis
• Joseph Steven "Joe" Sakic Canadian ice hockey player
• Joseph "Joe" Nieuwendyk Canadian ice hockey player
• Joseph Lloyd Simmons aka Rev. Run American rapper
• Joseph Priestley English chemist who discovered oxygen
• Joseph Szigeti Hungarian violinist
• Joseph William "Joe" Frazier American boxer
• Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh American singer and guitarist
• Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana American NFL player
• Joseph James "Joe" Rogan American comedian
• Anthony Joseph "Joe" Perry guitarist of American band Aerosmith
• Joseph Benson Foraker U.S. Senator and 37th governor of Ohio
• Joseph Mark "Joe" Trohman guitarist of American rock band Fall Out Boy
• Joseph Morgan (born Joseph Martin) English actor
• Joseph “Joe” Michael Jaquest cole English Actor
• Joseph Garrett English YouTuber known for his channel "stampylonghead"
• Joseph Michael "Joey" Graceffa American vlogger
• Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III son of US VP Joe Biden
• Joseph Graham "Joe" Sugg British vlogger
• Joseph "Joe" Gatto actor and comedian from TV's Impractical Jokers
• Joseph "Joe" Russo American director
• Joseph Garrett Duggar 7th child of the reality TV's Duggar family
• Joseph Marciano Armstrong son of musician Billie Joe Armstrong
• Joseph Raymond Romano son of actor and comedian Ray Romano
• Joseph Gunnar Lee (b. 2007) son of American actress Traci Lords
• Joseph Michael Jennings (b. 2009) son of beach volleyball player Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings
• Joseph Stout (b. 2012) son of American YouTubers Jason and Jessica "Aphmau" Stout
• Joseph Henrie (b. 2016) son of American actor Lorenzo Henrie
• Joseph "Joe" Hottinger lead guitar of band Halestorm
• Joseph Frederick Kushner (b. 2013) son of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner; grandson of President Donald Trump
• Joseph Lister (1827 – 1912) British Surgeon, Pioneer of Antiseptic surgery. Considered the "Father of Modern Surgery".

The name Joseph in Pop Culture

• Joseph "Joey" Francis Tribbiani character on TV's "Friends"
• Joseph Sullivan character on TV's "Heroes"
• Joseph "Joe" Goldberg character in book and TV's "You"
• "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat " musical based on Joseph, son of Jacob
• Joseph Joestar character from "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure"
• Joseph Kavinsky character in book series "The Raven Cycle"
• Joseph "Joe" West character on TV's "The Flash"
• Joseph Oda character in the video game "The Evil Within"
• Joseph Schreiber character in the video game "Silent Hill 4"
• Joseph Frost minor character in the Resident Evil series
• Joseph Lynch character in the film "Assassin's Creed"
• Joseph Christiansen character in the video game "Dream Daddy"
• "Joseph Courtney " song by the band Fencer
• Joseph Seed character in the video game "Far Cry 5"
• Joseph Stern character in the second campaign of the podcast "The Adventure Zone"