In the Old Testament, Joseph appears in its Hebrew form Yosef as the favored 11th son of Jacob. One of the most well-known stories in the Bible tells of how Joseph gets sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. He does not remain a slave but eventually gains the trust of the Pharaoh, rising to become the second most powerful man in Egypt. Joseph ultimately reconciles with his brothers and is united with his father when he steps in to save his family from famine. The name Joseph is also found in the New Testament in its Greek form Ioseph as the Virgin Mary’s carpenter husband and Jesus’ earthly father. 

Joseph is a classic name that has maintained its popularity for over a hundred years. It has ranked as a top-25 baby name for boys in the United States throughout the last century.  The name Joseph was extremely popular in the early 1900’s, holding a top 10 spot from 1900 to 1935. It was most popular in 1917 when it was ranked #5 and made up 2.6% of male births in the U.S. It then fell out of the top 10 in the 1930’s. After that, the name Joseph continued to rank in the teens with a short spurt of increased popularity before declining to its lowest ranking to date. In 2020 Joseph was the #26 name for boys in America. Although the name Joseph is almost always used as a boy name, its shortened form is often used as a girl name. There are multiple feminine variations of the name that are common as well.

Name Variations

As it is a biblical name, Joseph has an equivalent in many different languages. These include:

Jozef (Dutch)Giuseppe (Italian)Iosif (Russian)Jusuf (Bosnian)Jose (Spanish)Youssef (Arabic)Yousaf (Urdu)Yusuf (Turkish)

Similar Names

If you’re looking for other Biblical names that are similar to Joseph, here are some names from the Bible that also start with J:

Joshua Jonah Joel Josiah Jonathan

Common Nicknames

Common nicknames for Joseph include:

Joe: A simple, unpretentious and down-to-earth nickname. The “average Joe” is a moniker used mostly in North America to describe an ordinary person or typical male.Joey: A fun and friendly nickname often used with youngsters, but can remain a nickname through adulthood. “Joey” in the popular American sitcom Friends is an affable adult character who remains young at heart.  

Suggested Sibling Names

JeremiahJacobJesseJimSamuelNoahRebeccaHannahLydiaRachel

Famous People Named Joseph

Joe Pesci, actor Joe Jonas, singerJoseph Fiennes, actorJoseph Gordon-Levitt, actorJoe Biden, 46th President of the United States of AmericaJoe Rogan, television and podcast hostJoe Montana, football playerJoe Frazier, boxerJoseph Haydn, composerJoe DiMaggio, baseball playerJoey Ramone, musician

Fictional Characters Named Joseph

Joseph “Joey” Tribianni, character from television sitcom Friends“Uncle Joey” Gladstone, character from television sitcom Full HouseJoe Gardner, character from Disney Movie SoulJoseph, character from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

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