Joseph

#8,362 for girls in 2025, 12 births · #29 for boys in 2025, 7,303 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1917 · 24,761 births
Debut · boys
2,632 births
In top 100 · boys
146 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
2,669,490
since 1880

Joseph over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10rank188019001920194019601980200020202020peak #5, 1917boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#8,36212#297,303
2024#15,2935#327,261
2023#8,48612#297,279
2022#10,3839#307,839
2021#11,1468#288,166
2020#10,2509#268,486
2019#7,02516#249,179
2018#7,40915#239,682
2017#6,28719#1810,488
2016#8,39313#2010,969
2015#8,93112#2111,531
2014#14,5586#2012,155
2013#6,25520#2012,278
2012#7,45616#1912,594
2011#5,72823#2212,995
2010#7,51316#2013,851
2009#6,54420#1514,952
2008#4,88230#1316,599
2007#5,09728#1317,364
2006#4,81129#1118,471
2005#3,94236#919,241
2004#1,835103#920,147
2003#4,22031#621,394
2002#3,73035#721,920
2001#4,44727#822,030
2000#4,79124#822,844
1999#2,99144#823,220
1998#2,69150#1123,186
1997#2,73345#1223,604
1996#2,45152#1224,758
1995#2,15562#1225,354
1994#1,84177#1125,734
1993#2,04567#1227,014
1992#2,01068#1127,904
1991#1,67788#929,840
1990#1,73384#1030,137
1989#1,178139#1129,884
1988#930182#1229,019
1987#805217#1228,516
1986#807208#1228,834
1985#755227#1030,222
1984#763211#1030,513
1983#763211#1130,442
1982#810196#1131,035
1981#841186#1130,761
1980#763217#1030,185
1979#769209#1128,654
1978#828180#1026,663
1977#844176#1026,483
1976#921142#1224,055
1975#951132#1222,125
1974#984124#1221,834
1973#917134#1221,326
1972#949128#1222,454
1971#895148#1524,517
1970#929138#1626,714
1969#832154#1526,173
1968#887134#1625,396
1967#926122#1525,926
1966#1,042100#1526,981
1965#922120#1128,630
1964#969119#1130,576
1963#894137#1330,077
1962#1,054105#1330,090
1961#1,031112#1229,450
1960#976120#1229,749
1959#1,11692#1329,539
1958#1,18980#1230,115
1957#1,08393#1231,851
1956#1,13383#1232,749
1955#1,09584#1331,589
1954#1,13476#1331,221
1953#1,24161#1329,269
1952#1,14768#1228,510
1951#1,29252#1428,147
1950#1,15364#1327,022
1949#1,21056#1426,408
1948#1,05769#1326,801
1947#1,07968#1427,520
1946#1,08761#1424,284
1945#1,01558#1420,823
1944#84182#1321,176
1943#98665#1322,828
1942#86479#1122,429
1941#90366#1219,808
1940#89464#1218,208
1939#90360#1217,722
1938#81175#1217,742
1937#88261#1217,322
1936#80670#1117,453
1935#77576#1017,181
1934#71087#1017,111
1933#656100#917,162
1932#656104#918,566
1931#626112#919,326
1930#574141#920,981
1929#540159#921,165
1928#513182#922,322
1927#547167#923,503
1926#562161#823,756
1925#637132#724,613
1924#643135#725,421
1923#708106#725,561
1922#711104#725,699
1921#675120#726,182
1920#687112#725,587
1919#74389#724,266
1918#75190#726,261
1917#71394#524,761
1916#78277#523,883
1915#79169#523,051
1914#69269#518,829
1913#85238#514,471
1912#75744#512,062
1911#81128#66,488
1910#79429#65,228
1909#73130#64,348
1908#84921#64,162
1907#1,14212#73,844
1906#79321#73,527
1905#77722#73,302
1904#85318#73,291
1903#96913#63,121
1902#1,3208#73,098
1901#88114#62,766
1900#1,00814#73,714
1899#72819#62,679
1898#67923#63,171
1897#69920#62,827
1896#63524#63,051
1895#63823#72,992
1894#71917#62,977
1893#54726#62,997
1892#83013#73,064
1891#83911#72,572
1890#82511#72,670
1889#1,0257#72,729
1888#59318#72,993
1887#63313#72,456
1886#8288#72,594
1885#57614#72,540
1884#7319#72,707
1883#46517#72,515
1882#8136#72,670
1881#53910#72,456
1880#54710#72,632
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Joseph was already there! It came in at #7, and was given to 2,632 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1880–1899, when fewer than 3,200 boys a year got the name.

Where Joseph is popular in 2020

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #38 for boys · 18 births · 1 in 142 boysAKMaine: #65 for boys · 18 births · 1 in 214 boysMEVermont: #55 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 144 boysVTNew Hampshire: #26 for boys · 34 births · 1 in 127 boysNHWashington: #49 for boys · 134 births · 1 in 248 boysWAIdaho: #50 for boys · 36 births · 1 in 215 boysIDMontana: #29 for boys · 25 births · 1 in 132 boysMTNorth Dakota: #58 for boys · 17 births · 1 in 198 boysNDMinnesota: #49 for boys · 103 births · 1 in 243 boysMNIllinois: #27 for boys · 303 births · 1 in 180 boysILWisconsin: #30 for boys · 128 births · 1 in 187 boysWIMichigan: #24 for boys · 249 births · 1 in 172 boysMINew York: #5 for boys · 821 births · 1 in 107 boysNYMassachusetts: #21 for boys · 206 births · 1 in 130 boysMARhode Island: #18 for boys · 32 births · 1 in 105 boysRIOregon: #30 for boys · 86 births · 1 in 180 boysORNevada: #37 for boys · 67 births · 1 in 177 boysNVWyoming: #48 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 150 boysWYSouth Dakota: #77 for boys · 13 births · 1 in 257 boysSDIowa: #48 for boys · 57 births · 1 in 238 boysIAIndiana: #29 for boys · 165 births · 1 in 197 boysINOhio: #25 for boys · 297 births · 1 in 183 boysOHPennsylvania: #17 for boys · 391 births · 1 in 138 boysPANew Jersey: #4 for boys · 414 births · 1 in 95 boysNJConnecticut: #22 for boys · 109 births · 1 in 120 boysCTCalifornia: #36 for boys · 1,006 births · 1 in 188 boysCAUtah: #51 for boys · 74 births · 1 in 261 boysUTColorado: #48 for boys · 108 births · 1 in 232 boysCONebraska: #56 for boys · 38 births · 1 in 231 boysNEMissouri: #41 for boys · 129 births · 1 in 221 boysMOKentucky: #35 for boys · 102 births · 1 in 192 boysKYWest Virginia: #47 for boys · 37 births · 1 in 188 boysWVVirginia: #27 for boys · 229 births · 1 in 169 boysVAMaryland: #18 for boys · 171 births · 1 in 147 boysMDDelaware: #14 for boys · 30 births · 1 in 103 boysDEArizona: #34 for boys · 169 births · 1 in 189 boysAZNew Mexico: #37 for boys · 44 births · 1 in 165 boysNMKansas: #42 for boys · 68 births · 1 in 202 boysKSArkansas: #35 for boys · 62 births · 1 in 206 boysARTennessee: #30 for boys · 181 births · 1 in 188 boysTNNorth Carolina: #30 for boys · 250 births · 1 in 196 boysNCSouth Carolina: #16 for boys · 131 births · 1 in 153 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #26 for boys · 27 births · 1 in 129 boysDCOklahoma: #34 for boys · 90 births · 1 in 197 boysOKLouisiana: #17 for boys · 128 births · 1 in 168 boysLAMississippi: #15 for boys · 75 births · 1 in 162 boysMSAlabama: #37 for boys · 101 births · 1 in 216 boysALGeorgia: #28 for boys · 254 births · 1 in 198 boysGAHawaii: #25 for boys · 26 births · 1 in 133 boysHITexas: #41 for boys · 766 births · 1 in 221 boysTXFlorida: #31 for boys · 450 births · 1 in 200 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. New Jersey#4 · 1 in 95
  2. New York#5 · 1 in 107
  3. Delaware#14 · 1 in 103
  4. Mississippi#15 · 1 in 162
  5. South Carolina#16 · 1 in 153

Best ever in a state: #2 in New Hampshire, 1910.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
New Jersey#44141 in 95
New York#58211 in 107
Delaware#14301 in 103
Mississippi#15751 in 162
South Carolina#161311 in 153
Louisiana#171281 in 168
Pennsylvania#173911 in 138
Maryland#181711 in 147
Rhode Island#18321 in 105
Massachusetts#212061 in 130
Connecticut#221091 in 120
Michigan#242491 in 172
Hawaii#25261 in 133
Ohio#252971 in 183
District of Columbia#26271 in 129
New Hampshire#26341 in 127
Illinois#273031 in 180
Virginia#272291 in 169
Georgia#282541 in 198
Indiana#291651 in 197
Montana#29251 in 132
North Carolina#302501 in 196
Oregon#30861 in 180
Tennessee#301811 in 188
Wisconsin#301281 in 187
Florida#314501 in 200
Arizona#341691 in 189
Oklahoma#34901 in 197
Arkansas#35621 in 206
Kentucky#351021 in 192
California#361,0061 in 188
Alabama#371011 in 216
Nevada#37671 in 177
New Mexico#37441 in 165
Alaska#38181 in 142
Missouri#411291 in 221
Texas#417661 in 221
Kansas#42681 in 202
West Virginia#47371 in 188
Colorado#481081 in 232
Iowa#48571 in 238
Wyoming#4881 in 150
Minnesota#491031 in 243
Washington#491341 in 248
Idaho#50361 in 215
Utah#51741 in 261
Vermont#5591 in 144
Nebraska#56381 in 231
North Dakota#58171 in 198
Maine#65181 in 214
South Dakota#77131 in 257

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Joseph
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 3 spots since 2024 (#32 → #29)
  • 3 spots since 2020 (#26 → #29)
  • 8 spots since 2015 (#21 → #29)
  • Biggest jump: 3 spots in 1972 (#15 → #12)
  • Biggest drop: 5 spots in 2010 (#15 → #20)
Rise & fade · boys
37 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1917 at #5 (24,761 births)
  • Births halved by 2013, 96 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 10 for 70 yrs
  • Top 10: 70 yrs · run 1880–1935
  • Top 100: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 35
  • Highest: 1 in 35 boys born in 1914 were named Joseph (2.9%)
  • Latest: 1 in 234 boys born in 2025 (0.43%)
  • Its best rank, #5 in 1917, was only 1 in 37 (2.7%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1950s
  • 11.2% of all boys named Joseph (300,012) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s26,292#7 (1888)#7
1890s29,000#6 (1898)#6
1900s35,173#6 (1909)#7
1910s179,300#5 (1917)#6
1920s243,809#7 (1921)#8
1930s180,566#9 (1930)#10
1940s230,285#11 (1942)#13
1950s300,012#12 (1956)#13
1960s283,048#11 (1964)#13
1970s244,825#10 (1978)#12
1980s299,411#10 (1984)#11
1990s260,751#8 (1999)#11
2000s194,962#6 (2003)#10
2010s115,722#18 (2017)#21
2020s46,334#26 (2020)#29

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Joseph in 2020

girls
#10,250
9 births · 1 in 179,617 girls
boys
#26
8,486 births · 1 in 203 boys

Top girls' names in 2020

  1. #1Olivia17,691
  2. #2Emma15,723
  3. #3Ava13,201
  4. #4Sophia13,105
  5. #5Charlotte13,100
  6. #6Amelia12,802
  7. #7Isabella12,226
  8. #8Mia11,269
  9. #9Evelyn9,517
  10. #10Harper8,849
  11. #10,250Joseph9

Top boys' names in 2020

  1. #1Liam19,865
  2. #2Noah18,464
  3. #3Oliver14,277
  4. #4Elijah13,238
  5. #5William12,676
  6. #6James12,390
  7. #7Benjamin12,264
  8. #8Lucas11,386
  9. #9Henry10,793
  10. #10Alexander10,268
  11. #26Joseph8,486
More about 2020

girls

1,616,549 girls got a published name in 2020; 1 in 179,617 of them was named Joseph, which outranked 41.5% of the 17,527 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 7.9% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Joseph
  1. #9,546Zuriya10
  2. #9,546Zyara10
  3. #9,546Zylie10
  4. #10,250Joseph9
  5. #10,250Aadriti9
  6. #10,250Aaima9
  7. #10,250Aalivia9
  8. #11,090Aadhvika8
  9. #11,090Aadvika8
  10. #11,090Aaila8

Tied with 839 names at #10,250; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 2019
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,492Avayah#2,428 → #936
  2. ↑ 950Denisse#1,802 → #852
  3. ↑ 818Jianna#1,668 → #850
  4. ↑ 609Capri#1,291 → #682
  5. ↑ 550Rosalia#1,287 → #737
Fallers
  1. ↓ 393Yaritza#813 → #1,206
  2. ↓ 271Seraphina#1,000 → #1,271
  3. ↓ 207Marissa#874 → #1,081
  4. ↓ 203Annabella#644 → #847
  5. ↓ 195Jayde#832 → #1,027

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,726,076 boys got a published name in 2020; 1 in 203 of them was named Joseph, which outranked 99.8% of the 14,060 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 7.9% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Joseph
  1. #23Theodore8,638
  2. #24Aiden8,619
  3. #25Samuel8,594
  4. #26Joseph8,486
  5. #27John8,265
  6. #28David8,263
  7. #29Wyatt8,223
Biggest movers since 2019
Risers
  1. ↑ 587Zyair#1,548 → #961
  2. ↑ 567Jaxtyn#1,152 → #585
  3. ↑ 539Jakobe#1,372 → #833
  4. ↑ 473Kylo#922 → #449
  5. ↑ 461Ander#1,085 → #624
Fallers
  1. ↓ 380Vivaan#875 → #1,255
  2. ↓ 282Alexzander#890 → #1,172
  3. ↓ 268Reyansh#806 → #1,074
  4. ↓ 266Javion#949 → #1,215
  5. ↓ 224Kenny#862 → #1,086

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 2020 →