Joseph is a masculine name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God will add/God increases". It is derived from the Hebrew name Yosef, which was borne by several characters in the Bible. The most famous of these is Joseph, the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus according to Christian tradition.
The name Joseph has been popular throughout history and across different cultures. In ancient Egypt, for example, it was a common name among pharaohs and nobles. In the Middle Ages, it was widely used in Europe due to its biblical associations. Today, Joseph remains a popular choice for boys' names around the world.
Some notable people named Joseph include:
* Saint Joseph (died 1st century AD), the foster father of Jesus
* Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of Mormonism
* Joe DiMaggio (1914-1999), an American baseball player
* Joseph Heller (1923-1999), an American novelist best known for his novel "Catch-22"
* Joe Biden (born 1942), the current President of the United States
Here are some interesting statistics about the name Joseph over time in the United States:
From 1881 to around the mid-1940s, the number of babies named Joseph fluctuated between a low of 5 births per year to a high of 177 births. During this period, the popularity of the name was relatively stable but not exceptionally high.
However, starting from the late 1940s up until the early 1960s, there was a significant increase in the number of babies named Joseph. In 1953 alone, there were 247 births, and this number continued to rise over the next decade, peaking at 321 births in 1957.
The popularity of the name Joseph remained high throughout the late 1960s and into the early 1980s. It even reached its peak during this period with 464 births in 1970.
However, after the early 1980s, there was a gradual decline in the number of babies named Joseph. By 2011, the number had dropped to just 46 births. This downward trend continued until recently, with only 15 births recorded in 2022.
In total, over the years from 1881 to 2023, there have been approximately 15,622 babies named Joseph born in the United States. Despite its fluctuations in popularity over time, Joseph remains a classic and enduring name choice for parents in the U.S.