Joshua

Last seen for girls in 2024 at #11,122 · #66 for boys in 2025, 4,773 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
2002 · 25,998 births
Debut · boys
57 births
In top 100 · boys
55 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
1,248,929
since 1880

Joshua over time

boys

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

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201995peak #3, 2002boys
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—#664,773
2024#11,1228#575,268
2023#13,4626#605,070
2022#13,5926#605,197
2021—#585,531
2020#10,2509#536,015
2019#9,73610#486,631
2018—#407,446
2017#8,77612#388,353
2016#6,66318#359,258
2015#6,72118#339,850
2014#7,30216#2510,929
2013#8,58013#2111,861
2012#6,87218#1712,681
2011#5,35825#1413,797
2010#8,70113#1115,467
2009#5,70924#617,671
2008#5,57425#419,231
2007#3,98339#420,669
2006#4,57631#322,336
2005#3,46143#323,261
2004#1,614120#324,214
2003#3,23245#325,106
2002#3,10346#325,998
2001#2,96348#426,024
2000#2,70854#427,543
1999#2,36862#427,265
1998#2,65151#428,095
1997#2,22961#528,289
1996#1,91575#529,175
1995#2,15562#530,720
1994#1,84177#431,374
1993#1,419114#433,590
1992#1,357122#436,221
1991#1,219141#441,226
1990#1,066166#443,237
1989#885208#444,100
1988#652297#442,653
1987#678272#440,002
1986#616307#437,542
1985#657276#442,194
1984#655266#440,266
1983#718232#536,687
1982#720241#738,004
1981#700240#639,024
1980#747222#736,052
1979#762211#931,120
1978#981141#1225,204
1977#1,127113#1422,068
1976#1,19195#1816,845
1975#1,24192#2614,567
1974#1,53263#2911,599
1973#2,09438#428,057
1972#3,06221#595,033
1971#3,65217#803,650
1970#5,06110#1502,175
1969#5,4568#1971,321
1968#7,0165#271731
1967—#314563
1966—#340486
1965—#352461
1964—#407389
1963—#416372
1962—#436335
1961—#423354
1960—#454314
1959—#440328
1958—#477276
1957—#467273
1956—#491239
1955—#471245
1954—#524193
1953—#551164
1952—#523178
1951—#530165
1950—#537160
1949—#490183
1948—#587129
1947—#568141
1946—#608113
1945—#61297
1944—#601104
1943—#65595
1942—#591111
1941—#62893
1940—#62690
1939—#569101
1938—#72471
1937—#60592
1936—#573101
1935—#66380
1934—#574106
1933—#569102
1932—#560111
1931—#61194
1930—#64590
1929—#72974
1928—#562118
1927—#569117
1926—#612105
1925—#605109
1924—#594114
1923—#539129
1922—#571124
1921—#562125
1920—#542128
1919—#503139
1918—#552118
1917—#522122
1916—#58199
1915—#472136
1914—#52887
1913—#49278
1912—#50760
1911—#44643
1910—#39644
1909—#48728
1908—#45229
1907—#45726
1906—#42427
1905—#54918
1904—#49219
1903—#45121
1902—#52117
1901—#39922
1900—#36536
1899—#37624
1898—#29839
1897—#34629
1896—#35230
1895—#34029
1894—#37624
1893—#37123
1892—#28441
1891—#34924
1890—#35824
1889—#29433
1888—#24550
1887—#24741
1886—#22855
1885—#25143
1884—#26541
1883—#20255
1882—#23550
1881—#24440
1880—#21157
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Joshua was already there! It came in at #211, and was given to 57 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1901–1905, when fewer than 23 boys a year got the name.

Where Joshua is popular in 1995

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #6 for boys · 64 births · 1 in 56 boysAKMaine: #4 for boys · 152 births · 1 in 39 boysMEVermont: #4 for boys · 72 births · 1 in 36 boysVTNew Hampshire: #7 for boys · 145 births · 1 in 44 boysNHWashington: #4 for boys · 629 births · 1 in 53 boysWAIdaho: #5 for boys · 139 births · 1 in 52 boysIDMontana: #7 for boys · 69 births · 1 in 60 boysMTNorth Dakota: #17 for boys · 55 births · 1 in 70 boysNDMinnesota: #11 for boys · 479 births · 1 in 59 boysMNIllinois: #8 for boys · 1,233 births · 1 in 67 boysILWisconsin: #8 for boys · 540 births · 1 in 54 boysWIMichigan: #7 for boys · 1,164 births · 1 in 52 boysMINew York: #9 for boys · 1,871 births · 1 in 65 boysNYMassachusetts: #11 for boys · 657 births · 1 in 57 boysMARhode Island: #9 for boys · 116 births · 1 in 48 boysRIOregon: #5 for boys · 330 births · 1 in 59 boysORNevada: #2 for boys · 198 births · 1 in 50 boysNVWyoming: #1 for boys · 62 births · 1 in 32 boysWYSouth Dakota: #7 for boys · 79 births · 1 in 52 boysSDIowa: #9 for boys · 269 births · 1 in 61 boysIAIndiana: #6 for boys · 708 births · 1 in 54 boysINOhio: #10 for boys · 1,258 births · 1 in 57 boysOHPennsylvania: #6 for boys · 1,308 births · 1 in 54 boysPANew Jersey: #21 for boys · 632 births · 1 in 78 boysNJConnecticut: #10 for boys · 357 births · 1 in 54 boysCTCalifornia: #9 for boys · 3,507 births · 1 in 74 boysCAUtah: #3 for boys · 372 births · 1 in 47 boysUTColorado: #4 for boys · 452 births · 1 in 54 boysCONebraska: #10 for boys · 168 births · 1 in 60 boysNEMissouri: #9 for boys · 615 births · 1 in 56 boysMOKentucky: #10 for boys · 469 births · 1 in 49 boysKYWest Virginia: #3 for boys · 254 births · 1 in 37 boysWVVirginia: #4 for boys · 820 births · 1 in 49 boysVAMaryland: #4 for boys · 602 births · 1 in 49 boysMDDelaware: #13 for boys · 76 births · 1 in 53 boysDEArizona: #6 for boys · 510 births · 1 in 64 boysAZNew Mexico: #1 for boys · 229 births · 1 in 47 boysNMKansas: #5 for boys · 282 births · 1 in 54 boysKSArkansas: #5 for boys · 275 births · 1 in 50 boysARTennessee: #5 for boys · 757 births · 1 in 46 boysTNNorth Carolina: #2 for boys · 1,096 births · 1 in 41 boysNCSouth Carolina: #6 for boys · 429 births · 1 in 46 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #11 for boys · 83 births · 1 in 67 boysDCOklahoma: #5 for boys · 390 births · 1 in 50 boysOKLouisiana: #1 for boys · 593 births · 1 in 46 boysLAMississippi: #4 for boys · 344 births · 1 in 44 boysMSAlabama: #5 for boys · 537 births · 1 in 46 boysALGeorgia: #2 for boys · 1,066 births · 1 in 45 boysGAHawaii: #1 for boys · 145 births · 1 in 41 boysHITexas: #4 for boys · 2,430 births · 1 in 63 boysTXFlorida: #3 for boys · 1,633 births · 1 in 52 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Wyoming#1 · 1 in 32
  2. Hawaii#1 · 1 in 41
  3. Louisiana#1 · 1 in 46
  4. New Mexico#1 · 1 in 47
  5. North Carolina#2 · 1 in 41

Best ever in a state: #1 in Montana, 1980.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Hawaii#11451 in 41
Louisiana#15931 in 46
New Mexico#12291 in 47
Wyoming#1621 in 32
Georgia#21,0661 in 45
Nevada#21981 in 50
North Carolina#21,0961 in 41
Florida#31,6331 in 52
Utah#33721 in 47
West Virginia#32541 in 37
Colorado#44521 in 54
Maine#41521 in 39
Maryland#46021 in 49
Mississippi#43441 in 44
Texas#42,4301 in 63
Vermont#4721 in 36
Virginia#48201 in 49
Washington#46291 in 53
Alabama#55371 in 46
Arkansas#52751 in 50
Idaho#51391 in 52
Kansas#52821 in 54
Oklahoma#53901 in 50
Oregon#53301 in 59
Tennessee#57571 in 46
Alaska#6641 in 56
Arizona#65101 in 64
Indiana#67081 in 54
Pennsylvania#61,3081 in 54
South Carolina#64291 in 46
Michigan#71,1641 in 52
Montana#7691 in 60
New Hampshire#71451 in 44
South Dakota#7791 in 52
Illinois#81,2331 in 67
Wisconsin#85401 in 54
California#93,5071 in 74
Iowa#92691 in 61
Missouri#96151 in 56
New York#91,8711 in 65
Rhode Island#91161 in 48
Connecticut#103571 in 54
Kentucky#104691 in 49
Nebraska#101681 in 60
Ohio#101,2581 in 57
District of Columbia#11831 in 67
Massachusetts#116571 in 57
Minnesota#114791 in 59
Delaware#13761 in 53
North Dakota#17551 in 70
New Jersey#216321 in 78

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 Joshua
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 9 spots since 2024 (#57 → #66)
  • 13 spots since 2020 (#53 → #66)
  • 33 spots since 2015 (#33 → #66)
  • Biggest jump: 155 spots in 1939 (#724 → #569)
  • Biggest drop: 167 spots in 1929 (#562 → #729)
Rise & fade · boys
122 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 2002 at #3 (25,998 births)
  • Births halved by 2012, 10 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 10 for 31 yrs
  • Top 10: 31 yrs · run 1979–2009
  • Top 100: 55 yrs · run 1971–2025
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 44
  • Highest: 1 in 44 boys born in 1985 were named Joshua (2.3%)
  • Latest: 1 in 358 boys born in 2025 (0.28%)
  • Its best rank, #3 in 2002, was only 1 in 75 (1.3%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1980s
  • 31.7% of all boys named Joshua (396,524) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s465#202 (1883)#242
1890s287#284 (1892)#345
1900s243#365 (1900)#460
1910s926#396 (1910)#500
1920s1,143#539 (1923)#589
1930s948#560 (1932)#609
1940s1,156#490 (1949)#597
1950s2,221#440 (1959)#501
1960s5,326#197 (1969)#361
1970s140,318#9 (1979)#44
1980s396,524#4 (1989)#5
1990s329,192#4 (1990)#4
2000s232,053#3 (2002)#4
2010s106,273#11 (2010)#28
2020s31,854#53 (2020)#59

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.

Joshua in 1995

girls
#2,155
62 births · 1 in 28,364 girls
boys
#5
30,720 births · 1 in 62 boys

Top girls' names in 1995

  1. #1Jessica27,941
  2. #2Ashley26,606
  3. #3Emily24,382
  4. #4Samantha21,644
  5. #5Sarah21,395
  6. #6Taylor20,426
  7. #7Hannah17,018
  8. #8Brittany16,477
  9. #9Amanda16,354
  10. #10Elizabeth16,192
  11. #2,155Joshua62

Top boys' names in 1995

  1. #1Michael41,409
  2. #2Matthew32,882
  3. #3Christopher32,679
  4. #4Jacob31,134
  5. #5Joshua30,720
  6. #6Tyler29,161
  7. #7Nicholas29,160
  8. #8Brandon26,904
  9. #9Daniel26,728
  10. #10Austin25,908
More about 1995

girls

1,758,548 girls got a published name in 1995; 1 in 28,364 of them was named Joshua, which outranked 86.3% of the 15,753 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 11.9% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Joshua
  1. #2,125Valery63
  2. #2,125Vianca63
  3. #2,125Vicki63
  4. #2,155Joshua62
  5. #2,155Adelaide62
  6. #2,155Aleshia62
  7. #2,155Amirah62
  8. #2,189Abril61
  9. #2,189Agnes61
  10. #2,189Alli61

Tied with 33 names at #2,155; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1994
Risers
  1. ↑ 6,718Iridian#7,604 → #886
  2. ↑ 2,689Daija#3,615 → #926
  3. ↑ 2,119Lyric#2,752 → #633
  4. ↑ 1,910Daja#2,877 → #967
  5. ↑ 1,602Shania#2,047 → #445
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,205Nohely#896 → #2,101
  2. ↓ 1,048Zana#802 → #1,850
  3. ↓ 869Kadijah#512 → #1,381
  4. ↓ 609Clarisa#664 → #1,273
  5. ↓ 514Dayana#751 → #1,265

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

boys

1,903,701 boys got a published name in 1995; 1 in 62 of them was named Joshua, which outranked 100.0% of the 10,330 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 16.1% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Joshua
  1. #2Matthew32,882
  2. #3Christopher32,679
  3. #4Jacob31,134
  4. #5Joshua30,720
  5. #6Tyler29,161
  6. #7Nicholas29,160
  7. #8Brandon26,904
Biggest movers since 1994
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,703Tristin#2,307 → #604
  2. ↑ 1,494Raekwon#2,082 → #588
  3. ↑ 1,357Tristian#2,219 → #862
  4. ↑ 1,269Triston#1,795 → #526
  5. ↑ 1,186Rashaan#2,123 → #937
Fallers
  1. ↓ 469Shyheim#817 → #1,286
  2. ↓ 335Ryne#897 → #1,232
  3. ↓ 251Daulton#792 → #1,043
  4. ↓ 247Demetri#886 → #1,133
  5. ↓ 242Jerrell#917 → #1,159

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

See the top 100 for 1995 →