Joshua - Meaning of Joshua |
What does Joshua mean?
[ 3 syll. jos-hua, jo-sh-ua ] The baby boy name Joshua is sometimes used as a girl name. Its pronunciation is JHAA-SHahWah or JHAO-SHWah (English) †. Joshua is largely used in the English language and it is derived from Hebrew origins. The name is of the meaning Yahweh is salvation. A biblical name, it is from the elements 'yahweh' name of God ; 'sha' meaning to help, to deliver. Hosea (Hebrew), Iesous (Greek), Jehoschua (Hebrew), Jeschua (Aramaic), Oshea (Hebrew), Yehoshua (Hebrew), and Yeshua (Hebrew) are old forms of Joshua. The name was borne in the Old Testament of the Bible by the successor to Moses, who continued to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. The modern name was found in many forms in the early days; the New Testament name Jesus was directly derived from Iesous, one of the old forms of Joshua. The name was widely adopted by 18th century English speakers and Christian fundamentalists; it was also common among Jews.
What are the Variant Forms of Joshua?
The name Joshua is used to a great extent; it has 48 variants that are used in English and other languages. Variants used in English include Jashua, Jesus (used in German, Portuguese, and Spanish as well), Johsua, Johusa, Josha, Joshau, Joshaua, Joshauh, Joshawa, Joshia, Joshka, Joshu, Joshuaa, Joshuah, Joshuam, Joshue, Joshuea, Joshuia, Joshula, Joshus, Joshusa, Joshuwa, Joshwa, Joshyam, Joss, Josue (used in French, Portuguese, and Spanish as well), Jousha, Joushua, Jozshua, and Jushua. The contraction Josh is another English variant.Foreign variants of Joshua include Giosia (Italian), Giosue (Italian), Giosuè (Italian), Iokua (Hawaiian), Iosua (Romanian), Jesús (Spanish), Joaquim (Portuguese), Joaquin (Spanish), Joschua (German), Josua (German, Hungarian, and Scandinavian), Jozsua (Hungarian), Jozua (Dutch), Yehoshua (Yiddish), Yeshua (Hebrew and Yiddish), and Yushua (Arabic). Another foreign form is the variant spelling Jeshua (Hebrew).
See also the related form, Falk (Dutch, English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and German).
Joshua is very popular as a baby name for boys. The name's popularity jumped from the 1930s up to the 1980s. At the peak of its usage in 1985, 2.195% of baby boys were given the name Joshua. Its ranking then was #4. The baby name has since declined in popularity. In 2011, its usage was 0.676% and its ranking #14, but it was nonetheless the most popular out of all boy names in its group. In 2011, Joshua was thrice as popular as the next most popular name, Jesus. Joshua has predominantly been a baby boy name in the past century. In 1989, baby boys named Joshua outnumbered girls by 202 times.
Baby names that sound like Joshua include Jahea, Jahee, Jakhea, Jakow, Jashua, Jasiah, Jasio, Jaycy, Jesaja, Jeshaiah, Jeshua, Jesiah, Jesuso, Joahas, Joahaz, Joesiah, Johsua, Johusa, Joschua, and Josea.
† Pronunciation for Joshua: JH as in "joy (JH.OY)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; SH as in "she (SH.IY)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)" ; W as in "we (W.IY)" ; AO as in "ought (AO.T)"
Details of famous persons named Joshua:
Politician Joshua Bolten, born 16 August 1954.
Pop Musicians J.C. Chasez, born Joshua Scott Chasez, 1996, Orlando, Florida.
