Joseph Boy
How popular is Joseph?
#29 boy name in 2025
7,303 baby boys were named Joseph in the US in 2025, making it the 29th most popular boy name. Another 12 girls got the name (#8,360 for girls).
Joseph popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #29 for boys (▲ 3 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 7,303 boys, 12 girls |
| 10-year trend | Falling (-37% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #21 in 2015, #26 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 1956 (32,749 boys) |
| Highest rank | #5 in 1912 (6 years at that rank) |
| First recorded | 1880 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 100% boys, 0% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 5% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Joseph counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Joseph family of names ranked #34 for boys in 2025 (#38 the year before), with 7,364 babies in all.
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Joseph is most popular
Babies named Joseph per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- New Jersey: 9.7 per 1,000 (1,951 boys)
- Connecticut: 9.4 per 1,000 (636 boys)
- Wyoming: 8.6 per 1,000 (50 boys)
- Vermont: 8.6 per 1,000 (54 boys)
- Rhode Island: 8.5 per 1,000 (139 boys)
Joseph by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 26,292 | #7 |
| 1890s | 29,000 | #6 |
| 1900s | 35,173 | #6 |
| 1910s | 179,300 | #5 |
| 1920s | 243,809 | #7 |
| 1930s | 180,566 | #9 |
| 1940s | 230,285 | #11 |
| 1950s | 300,012 | #12 |
| 1960s | 283,048 | #11 |
| 1970s | 244,825 | #10 |
| 1980s | 299,411 | #10 |
| 1990s | 260,751 | #8 |
| 2000s | 194,962 | #6 |
| 2010s | 115,722 | #18 |
| 2020s | 46,334 | #26 |
Boy names about as popular as Joseph
Questions
- Is Joseph a boy or girl name?
- Joseph is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 100% of babies named Joseph were boys.
- How popular is the name Joseph?
- 7,303 baby boys were named Joseph in the US in 2025, making it the 29th most popular boy name. Another 12 girls got the name (#8,360 for girls).
- When was Joseph most popular?
- Joseph peaked in 1956, when 32,749 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #5, held for 6 years starting in 1912.
- How many people are named Joseph?
- 2,680,213 babies have been named Joseph in the US since 1880. We estimate about 1,704,786 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 45.
- Where is Joseph most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Joseph was most common in New Jersey, at 9.7 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.