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.

# 29 in the US

Joseph Rank in US Top 1000

# 245 on Nameberry

Joseph Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Joseph Popularity

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".

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"

Joseph in Nameberry Blog Posts