# Josephus (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/josephus/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈd͡ʒəʊˈsiːfəs/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,211 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,211 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

From Latin Iōsēphus, from Ancient Greek Ἰώσηπος (Iṓsēpos), Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 11 | 4,834 |
| 1991 | 6 | 7,731 |
| 1992 | 7 | 7,034 |
| 1993 | 5 | 9,419 |
| 1994 | 7 | 7,335 |
| 1995 | 5 | 9,541 |
| 1998 | 5 | 10,428 |
| 2001 | 5 | 11,425 |
| 2002 | 5 | 11,546 |
| 2004 | 6 | 10,619 |
| 2008 | 5 | 13,526 |
| 2011 | 7 | 10,160 |
| 2017 | 5 | 13,187 |
| 2021 | 6 | 11,398 |
| 2023 | 5 | 13,132 |

## People named Josephus

- Josephus Daniels, American diplomat and newspaper editor (1862–1948)
- Johannes Josephus Aarts, Dutch painter and printmaker (1871-1934)
- Anthonius Josephus Maria Leeuwenberg, Dutch botanist (1930-2010)
- Wilhelmus Josephus Jongmans, Dutch university professor and botanist (1878-1957)
- Peter Debye, Dutch-American physicist and physical chemist (1884–1966)
- Joseph Justus Scaliger, French historian (1540-1609)
- Ralf Mackenbach, Dutch singer, actor and physicist
- Ernest Claes, Belgian writer (1885-1968)
- Wilhelmus de Bekker, Dutch-born Surinamese Roman Catholic bishop
- Mental Theo, Dutch record producer and DJ
- Huub Oosterhuis, Dutch theologian and poet (1933–2023)
- John Hicks, American jazz pianist and composer (1941-2006)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.