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#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020202020peak #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 2020

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #23 for boys · 22 births · 1 in 116 boysAKMaine: #91 for boys · 14 births · 1 in 276 boysMEVermont: #80 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 185 boysVTNew Hampshire: #120 for boys · 11 births · 1 in 394 boysNHWashington: #66 for boys · 108 births · 1 in 307 boysWAIdaho: #88 for boys · 23 births · 1 in 337 boysIDMontana: #57 for boys · 17 births · 1 in 194 boysMTNorth Dakota: #150 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 421 boysNDMinnesota: #105 for boys · 64 births · 1 in 391 boysMNIllinois: #60 for boys · 193 births · 1 in 283 boysILWisconsin: #102 for boys · 64 births · 1 in 374 boysWIMichigan: #65 for boys · 147 births · 1 in 291 boysMINew York: #45 for boys · 365 births · 1 in 240 boysNYMassachusetts: #42 for boys · 143 births · 1 in 188 boysMARhode Island: #44 for boys · 23 births · 1 in 147 boysRIOregon: #91 for boys · 44 births · 1 in 352 boysORNevada: #81 for boys · 39 births · 1 in 304 boysNVWyoming: #104 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 240 boysWYSouth Dakota: #90 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 278 boysSDIowa: #96 for boys · 40 births · 1 in 339 boysIAIndiana: #74 for boys · 107 births · 1 in 303 boysINOhio: #68 for boys · 179 births · 1 in 304 boysOHPennsylvania: #57 for boys · 220 births · 1 in 245 boysPANew Jersey: #37 for boys · 206 births · 1 in 191 boysNJConnecticut: #86 for boys · 43 births · 1 in 305 boysCTCalifornia: #48 for boys · 799 births · 1 in 237 boysCAUtah: #89 for boys · 50 births · 1 in 386 boysUTColorado: #51 for boys · 100 births · 1 in 251 boysCONebraska: #103 for boys · 25 births · 1 in 351 boysNEMissouri: #87 for boys · 82 births · 1 in 347 boysMOKentucky: #65 for boys · 70 births · 1 in 280 boysKYWest Virginia: #91 for boys · 24 births · 1 in 290 boysWVVirginia: #49 for boys · 164 births · 1 in 236 boysVAMaryland: #27 for boys · 147 births · 1 in 170 boysMDDelaware: #44 for boys · 20 births · 1 in 155 boysDEArizona: #83 for boys · 97 births · 1 in 330 boysAZNew Mexico: #29 for boys · 47 births · 1 in 155 boysNMKansas: #60 for boys · 53 births · 1 in 259 boysKSArkansas: #33 for boys · 64 births · 1 in 199 boysARTennessee: #44 for boys · 145 births · 1 in 235 boysTNNorth Carolina: #45 for boys · 210 births · 1 in 233 boysNCSouth Carolina: #43 for boys · 90 births · 1 in 222 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #76 for boys · 14 births · 1 in 250 boysDCOklahoma: #97 for boys · 48 births · 1 in 370 boysOKLouisiana: #30 for boys · 104 births · 1 in 207 boysLAMississippi: #45 for boys · 57 births · 1 in 213 boysMSAlabama: #41 for boys · 99 births · 1 in 220 boysALGeorgia: #32 for boys · 240 births · 1 in 209 boysGAHawaii: #19 for boys · 28 births · 1 in 123 boysHITexas: #45 for boys · 734 births · 1 in 231 boysTXFlorida: #39 for boys · 400 births · 1 in 226 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Hawaii#19 · 1 in 123
  2. Alaska#23 · 1 in 116
  3. Maryland#27 · 1 in 170
  4. New Mexico#29 · 1 in 155
  5. Louisiana#30 · 1 in 207

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

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Hawaii#19281 in 123
Alaska#23221 in 116
Maryland#271471 in 170
New Mexico#29471 in 155
Louisiana#301041 in 207
Georgia#322401 in 209
Arkansas#33641 in 199
New Jersey#372061 in 191
Florida#394001 in 226
Alabama#41991 in 220
Massachusetts#421431 in 188
South Carolina#43901 in 222
Delaware#44201 in 155
Rhode Island#44231 in 147
Tennessee#441451 in 235
Mississippi#45571 in 213
New York#453651 in 240
North Carolina#452101 in 233
Texas#457341 in 231
California#487991 in 237
Virginia#491641 in 236
Colorado#511001 in 251
Montana#57171 in 194
Pennsylvania#572201 in 245
Illinois#601931 in 283
Kansas#60531 in 259
Kentucky#65701 in 280
Michigan#651471 in 291
Washington#661081 in 307
Ohio#681791 in 304
Indiana#741071 in 303
District of Columbia#76141 in 250
Vermont#8071 in 185
Nevada#81391 in 304
Arizona#83971 in 330
Connecticut#86431 in 305
Missouri#87821 in 347
Idaho#88231 in 337
Utah#89501 in 386
South Dakota#90121 in 278
Maine#91141 in 276
Oregon#91441 in 352
West Virginia#91241 in 290
Iowa#96401 in 339
Oklahoma#97481 in 370
Wisconsin#102641 in 374
Nebraska#103251 in 351
Wyoming#10451 in 240
Minnesota#105641 in 391
New Hampshire#120111 in 394
North Dakota#15081 in 421

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 2020

girls
#10,250
9 births · 1 in 179,617 girls
boys
#53
6,015 births · 1 in 287 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. #10,250Joshua9

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. #53Joshua6,015
More about 2020

girls

1,616,549 girls got a published name in 2020; 1 in 179,617 of them was named Joshua, 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 Joshua
  1. #9,546Zuriya10
  2. #9,546Zyara10
  3. #9,546Zylie10
  4. #10,250Joshua9
  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 287 of them was named Joshua, which outranked 99.6% 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 Joshua
  1. #50Maverick6,139
  2. #51Isaiah6,094
  3. #52Andrew6,068
  4. #53Joshua6,015
  5. #54Elias5,993
  6. #55Nathan5,702
  7. #56Caleb5,616
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 →