Boy nameCurrently #57 in the USFalling
Joshua
JOSH-oo-uh//ˈdʒɒʃuə//
3 syllablesPeak year: 19896 lettersStarts with J
Meaning & origin
The Lord is salvation
Joshua comes from the Hebrew meaning 'the Lord is salvation', and belongs to the successor of Moses who led the Israelites into the Promised Land. Warm and enduring, it was one of the most popular boys' names of the late 20th century.
Joshua's popularity over time
| Year | Births named Joshua |
|---|---|
| 1880 | 57 |
| 1881 | 40 |
| 1882 | 50 |
| 1883 | 55 |
| 1884 | 41 |
| 1885 | 43 |
| 1886 | 55 |
| 1887 | 41 |
| 1888 | 50 |
| 1889 | 33 |
| 1890 | 24 |
| 1891 | 24 |
| 1892 | 41 |
| 1893 | 23 |
| 1894 | 24 |
| 1895 | 29 |
| 1896 | 30 |
| 1897 | 29 |
| 1898 | 39 |
| 1899 | 24 |
| 1900 | 36 |
| 1901 | 22 |
| 1902 | 17 |
| 1903 | 21 |
| 1904 | 19 |
| 1905 | 18 |
| 1906 | 27 |
| 1907 | 26 |
| 1908 | 29 |
| 1909 | 28 |
| 1910 | 44 |
| 1911 | 43 |
| 1912 | 60 |
| 1913 | 78 |
| 1914 | 87 |
| 1915 | 136 |
| 1916 | 99 |
| 1917 | 122 |
| 1918 | 118 |
| 1919 | 139 |
| 1920 | 128 |
| 1921 | 125 |
| 1922 | 124 |
| 1923 | 129 |
| 1924 | 114 |
| 1925 | 109 |
| 1926 | 105 |
| 1927 | 117 |
| 1928 | 118 |
| 1929 | 74 |
| 1930 | 90 |
| 1931 | 94 |
| 1932 | 111 |
| 1933 | 102 |
| 1934 | 106 |
| 1935 | 80 |
| 1936 | 101 |
| 1937 | 92 |
| 1938 | 71 |
| 1939 | 101 |
| 1940 | 90 |
| 1941 | 92 |
| 1942 | 111 |
| 1943 | 95 |
| 1944 | 104 |
| 1945 | 97 |
| 1946 | 113 |
| 1947 | 141 |
| 1948 | 130 |
| 1949 | 183 |
| 1950 | 161 |
| 1951 | 166 |
| 1952 | 178 |
| 1953 | 164 |
| 1954 | 193 |
| 1955 | 245 |
| 1956 | 239 |
| 1957 | 273 |
| 1958 | 276 |
| 1959 | 327 |
| 1960 | 314 |
| 1961 | 354 |
| 1962 | 335 |
| 1963 | 372 |
| 1964 | 389 |
| 1965 | 461 |
| 1966 | 486 |
| 1967 | 563 |
| 1968 | 736 |
| 1969 | 1,329 |
| 1970 | 2,184 |
| 1971 | 3,666 |
| 1972 | 5,054 |
| 1973 | 8,096 |
| 1974 | 11,662 |
| 1975 | 14,658 |
| 1976 | 16,941 |
| 1977 | 22,182 |
| 1978 | 25,347 |
| 1979 | 31,336 |
| 1980 | 36,276 |
| 1981 | 39,267 |
| 1982 | 38,244 |
| 1983 | 36,920 |
| 1984 | 40,532 |
| 1985 | 42,474 |
| 1986 | 37,848 |
| 1987 | 40,276 |
| 1988 | 42,947 |
| 1989 | 44,307 |
| 1990 | 43,399 |
| 1991 | 41,367 |
| 1992 | 36,342 |
| 1993 | 33,703 |
| 1994 | 31,452 |
| 1995 | 30,782 |
| 1996 | 29,249 |
| 1997 | 28,349 |
| 1998 | 28,146 |
| 1999 | 27,326 |
| 2000 | 27,596 |
| 2001 | 26,072 |
| 2002 | 26,043 |
| 2003 | 25,148 |
| 2004 | 24,333 |
| 2005 | 23,304 |
| 2006 | 22,365 |
| 2007 | 20,706 |
| 2008 | 19,253 |
| 2009 | 17,692 |
| 2010 | 15,476 |
| 2011 | 13,821 |
| 2012 | 12,695 |
| 2013 | 11,868 |
| 2014 | 10,942 |
| 2015 | 9,865 |
| 2016 | 9,271 |
| 2017 | 8,356 |
| 2018 | 7,443 |
| 2019 | 6,635 |
| 2020 | 6,020 |
| 2021 | 5,524 |
| 2022 | 5,201 |
| 2023 | 5,070 |
| 2024 | 5,252 |
Joshua through the decades
- Joshua peaked in 1989, when 44,307 babies were named Joshua in the US.
- Over the last 10 years of data (2015–2024), use of Joshua has fallen 59% compared to the 10 years before that.
- Joshua currently ranks #57 in the US and is cooling off.
Nicknames
Josh
Variants & spellings
Jehoshua