Joseph - Origin and Meaning of the name

The boy name Joseph [ 2 syll. jo-sep(h), jos-e-ph ] is pronounced as JHOWSahF or JHOWZahF ^KEY. Joseph is used predominantly in the English, French, and German languages, and its origin is Hebrew. Joseph's meaning is Yahweh will add (another son). Biblical name derived from the element 'yacaph' meaning to add, to increase. The name was borne by the 11th son of Jacob in the Old Testament of the Bible, after whom one of the twelve tribes of Israel was named; he was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers whom he finally forgave and was reconciled with. The name was also borne by the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the New Testament, as well as a rich Jew named Joseph of Arimathea, who retrieved Jesus' body from the Cross and buried it in a tomb made of stones. The name was commonly used by English speakers in the Middle Ages, and it became more widespread after the Reformation. The name Josepha (German) is the female version of Joseph.

Joseph is a widely used name; it has 24 variants that are used in both English and other languages. A variant of Joseph used in English is Joey. The short forms Jo and Joe (used in French too), and the pet form Jody are other English variants.

Foreign variants of Joseph include Beppe (Italian), Beppo (Italian), Giuseppe (Italian), Giuseppino (Italian), Guiseppe (Italian), Joos (Dutch), Jose (Portuguese), Josef (German and Hebrew), José (Spanish), Josip (Slavic), Joska (Hungarian), Jozef (Dutch and Slavic), Jozsef (Hungarian), Pepe (Spanish), Pepito (Spanish), Peppino (Italian), Pino (Italian), Sepp (German), Youssef (Arabic), and Yusuf (Arabic).

Joseph is a classic favorite. Today it is still very popular as a baby name for boys, though not to the extent it was previously. At the height of its usage in 1914, 2.755% of baby boys were given the name Joseph. It ranked at #5 then. The baby name has since experienced a fall in popularity, and is currently of moderate use. In 2007, its usage was 0.780% and its ranking #13, but it was nonetheless the most popular within all boy names in its group. In 2007, 53% more boys were named Joseph than the next most popular name, Jose (Portuguese). Joseph has mostly been a boy name, though in the past century it has also been used for girls. In 1988, the name Joseph was given to 153 times as many boys than girls.

Baby names that sound like Joseph include Josef (German and Hebrew), Jozef (Dutch and Slavic), Jacob (Dutch, English, and Scandinavian), Jakob (German), Jephthah (English and German), Josip (Slavic), Jozsef (Hungarian), Jaap (Dutch), Jacoby (English), Jacopo (Italian), Jeff (English), Jeppe (Scandinavian), Job (Dutch and English), Giacobbe (Italian), and Giuseppe (Italian).

^KEY: Pronunciation for Joseph: JH as in "gee (JH.IY)" ; OW as in "oat (OW.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; F as in "fee (F.IY)" ; JH as in "gee (JH.IY)" ; OW as in "oat (OW.T)" ; Z as in "zee (Z.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; F as in "fee (F.IY)"

Details of famous persons named Joseph:
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, born 17 February 1981, Los Angeles, California.
Actor Jerry Lewis, born Joseph Levitch, 16 March 1926, Newark, New Jersey.
Aviator Joseph Jr. Kennedy, born 28 July 1915 - 12 August 1944, Boston, Massachusetts.
Business Personality Joseph Sr. Kennedy, born 6 September 1888 - 19 November 1969, Boston, Massachusetts.
Comedian Joey Bishop, born Joseph Abraham Gottlieb, 3 February 1918 - 17 October 2007, The Bronx, New York.
Comedian Buster Keaton, born Joseph Francis Keaton VI, 4 October 1895 - 1 February 1966, Piqua, Kansas.
Heavy metal Musician Joe Elliot, born Joseph Thomas Elliott, 1 August 1959, South Yorkshire, England.
Jazz Musician Harry Jr. Connick, born Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr., 11 September 1967, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Native American Leader Chief Joseph, born 1840 - 21 September 1904.
Poker Player Joseph Hachem, born 11 March 1966.

Popularity Trend
for Joseph
from 1900 to 2007

Variant Popularity Chart
for Joseph
in 2007