# Joshua (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/joshua/  
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 | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “yahweh”, “yahweh is salvation”, “to save” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈd͡ʒɑʃ(j)u.ə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Josh, Joshy, Joshie |
| Variant spellings | Josue |
| US babies named this | 1,253,882 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,248,929 / 4,953 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 146,127, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshúa'), perhaps from הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hoshéa') with addition of יהוה (YHWH, “Yahweh”), thus meaning "Yahweh is salvation". See הוֹשִׁיעַ (hoshía', “to save”). By cognate a direct equivalent to Jesus via Latin Iēsūs and Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs) from Aramaic יֵשׁוּע (Yēšū́ʿ), akin to Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshúa'), a variant of Yehoshúa'. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament consistently render the two Hebrew names Yehoshúa' (whence Joshua) and Yeshúa' (whence Jeshua) into Koine Greek as Iēsoûs (whence Jesus).

## What it means

Joshua is grouped under god.

## 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, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 25 | 5,645 |
| 2009 | 24 | 5,789 |
| 2010 | 13 | 8,950 |
| 2011 | 25 | 5,448 |
| 2012 | 18 | 6,992 |
| 2013 | 13 | 8,792 |
| 2014 | 16 | 7,466 |
| 2015 | 18 | 6,847 |
| 2016 | 18 | 6,768 |
| 2017 | 12 | 9,033 |
| 2019 | 10 | 10,082 |
| 2020 | 9 | 10,660 |
| 2022 | 6 | 14,381 |
| 2023 | 6 | 14,219 |
| 2024 | 8 | 11,590 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13,797 | 14 |
| 2012 | 12,681 | 17 |
| 2013 | 11,861 | 21 |
| 2014 | 10,929 | 25 |
| 2015 | 9,850 | 33 |
| 2016 | 9,258 | 35 |
| 2017 | 8,353 | 38 |
| 2018 | 7,446 | 40 |
| 2019 | 6,631 | 48 |
| 2020 | 6,015 | 53 |
| 2021 | 5,531 | 58 |
| 2022 | 5,197 | 60 |
| 2023 | 5,070 | 60 |
| 2024 | 5,268 | 57 |
| 2025 | 4,773 | 66 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4,786 | 9 |
| 2012 | 4,444 | 11 |
| 2013 | 3,973 | 12 |
| 2014 | 3,812 | 13 |
| 2015 | 3,394 | 16 |
| 2016 | 3,495 | 16 |
| 2017 | 3,166 | 15 |
| 2018 | 2,922 | 17 |
| 2019 | 2,450 | 20 |
| 2020 | 1,989 | 23 |
| 2021 | 1,737 | 31 |
| 2022 | 1,478 | 35 |
| 2023 | 1,339 | 40 |
| 2024 | 1,027 | 50 |
| 2025 | 938 | 53 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: يُوشَع, يَشُوع
- Armenian: Հեսու
- Catalan: Josuè
- Chinese: 喬舒亞 /乔舒亚, 約書亞 /约书亚, 若蘇厄 /若苏厄
- Czech: Jozue
- Danish: Josva
- Dutch: Jozua
- Estonian: Joosua
- Finnish: Joosua
- French: Josué
- Georgian: იესო
- German: Josua
- Greek: Ιησούς του ναυή
- Hebrew: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
- Hindi: यहोशू
- Hungarian: Józsua, Józsué
- Icelandic: Jósúa
- Irish: Iósua
- Italian: Giosuè
- Japanese: ヨシュア

## People named Joshua

- Joshua Bassett, American actor and singer-songwriter
- Joshua Kimmich, German association football player (born 1995)
- Joshua Reynolds, English painter (1723–1792)
- Joshua Lederberg, American molecular biologist (1925–2008)
- Joshua Kennedy, Australian association football player
- Joshua Jackson, Canadian actor
- Joshua Zirkzee, Dutch association football player (born 2001)
- Joshua Logan, American stage and film director and writer (1908-1988)
- Joshua Bell, American violinist (born 1967)
- Joshua Fishman, American linguist (1926–2015)
- Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, American military officer, professor, and 32nd Governor of Maine (1828–1914)
- Joshua Gomez, American actor and composer

## 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.