Joseph

#8,362 for girls in 2025, 12 births · #29 for boys in 2025, 7,303 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
#5
1917 · 24,761 births
Debut · boys
1880
2,632 births
In top 100 · boys
146 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
2,669,490
since 1880

Joseph over time

boys

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

#1#10rank188019001920194019601980200020201991peak #5, 1917boys
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#8,36212#297,303
2024#15,2935#327,261
2023#8,48612#297,279
2022#10,3839#307,839
2021#11,1468#288,166
2020#10,2509#268,486
2019#7,02516#249,179
2018#7,40915#239,682
2017#6,28719#1810,488
2016#8,39313#2010,969
2015#8,93112#2111,531
2014#14,5586#2012,155
2013#6,25520#2012,278
2012#7,45616#1912,594
2011#5,72823#2212,995
2010#7,51316#2013,851
2009#6,54420#1514,952
2008#4,88230#1316,599
2007#5,09728#1317,364
2006#4,81129#1118,471
2005#3,94236#919,241
2004#1,835103#920,147
2003#4,22031#621,394
2002#3,73035#721,920
2001#4,44727#822,030
2000#4,79124#822,844
1999#2,99144#823,220
1998#2,69150#1123,186
1997#2,73345#1223,604
1996#2,45152#1224,758
1995#2,15562#1225,354
1994#1,84177#1125,734
1993#2,04567#1227,014
1992#2,01068#1127,904
1991#1,67788#929,840
1990#1,73384#1030,137
1989#1,178139#1129,884
1988#930182#1229,019
1987#805217#1228,516
1986#807208#1228,834
1985#755227#1030,222
1984#763211#1030,513
1983#763211#1130,442
1982#810196#1131,035
1981#841186#1130,761
1980#763217#1030,185
1979#769209#1128,654
1978#828180#1026,663
1977#844176#1026,483
1976#921142#1224,055
1975#951132#1222,125
1974#984124#1221,834
1973#917134#1221,326
1972#949128#1222,454
1971#895148#1524,517
1970#929138#1626,714
1969#832154#1526,173
1968#887134#1625,396
1967#926122#1525,926
1966#1,042100#1526,981
1965#922120#1128,630
1964#969119#1130,576
1963#894137#1330,077
1962#1,054105#1330,090
1961#1,031112#1229,450
1960#976120#1229,749
1959#1,11692#1329,539
1958#1,18980#1230,115
1957#1,08393#1231,851
1956#1,13383#1232,749
1955#1,09584#1331,589
1954#1,13476#1331,221
1953#1,24161#1329,269
1952#1,14768#1228,510
1951#1,29252#1428,147
1950#1,15364#1327,022
1949#1,21056#1426,408
1948#1,05769#1326,801
1947#1,07968#1427,520
1946#1,08761#1424,284
1945#1,01558#1420,823
1944#84182#1321,176
1943#98665#1322,828
1942#86479#1122,429
1941#90366#1219,808
1940#89464#1218,208
1939#90360#1217,722
1938#81175#1217,742
1937#88261#1217,322
1936#80670#1117,453
1935#77576#1017,181
1934#71087#1017,111
1933#656100#917,162
1932#656104#918,566
1931#626112#919,326
1930#574141#920,981
1929#540159#921,165
1928#513182#922,322
1927#547167#923,503
1926#562161#823,756
1925#637132#724,613
1924#643135#725,421
1923#708106#725,561
1922#711104#725,699
1921#675120#726,182
1920#687112#725,587
1919#74389#724,266
1918#75190#726,261
1917#71394#524,761
1916#78277#523,883
1915#79169#523,051
1914#69269#518,829
1913#85238#514,471
1912#75744#512,062
1911#81128#66,488
1910#79429#65,228
1909#73130#64,348
1908#84921#64,162
1907#1,14212#73,844
1906#79321#73,527
1905#77722#73,302
1904#85318#73,291
1903#96913#63,121
1902#1,3208#73,098
1901#88114#62,766
1900#1,00814#73,714
1899#72819#62,679
1898#67923#63,171
1897#69920#62,827
1896#63524#63,051
1895#63823#72,992
1894#71917#62,977
1893#54726#62,997
1892#83013#73,064
1891#83911#72,572
1890#82511#72,670
1889#1,0257#72,729
1888#59318#72,993
1887#63313#72,456
1886#8288#72,594
1885#57614#72,540
1884#7319#72,707
1883#46517#72,515
1882#8136#72,670
1881#53910#72,456
1880#54710#72,632
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Joseph was already there! It came in at #7, and was given to 2,632 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1880–1899, when fewer than 3,200 boys a year got the name.

See more about Joseph
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 3 spots since 2024 (#32 → #29)
  • 3 spots since 2020 (#26 → #29)
  • 8 spots since 2015 (#21 → #29)
  • Biggest jump: 3 spots in 1972 (#15 → #12)
  • Biggest drop: 5 spots in 2010 (#15 → #20)
Rise & fade · boys
37 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1917 at #5 (24,761 births)
  • Births halved by 2013, 96 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 10 for 70 yrs
  • Top 10: 70 yrs · run 1880–1935
  • Top 100: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 35
  • Highest: 1 in 35 boys born in 1914 were named Joseph (2.9%)
  • Latest: 1 in 234 boys born in 2025 (0.43%)
  • Its best rank, #5 in 1917, was only 1 in 37 (2.7%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1950s
  • 11.2% of all boys named Joseph (300,012) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s26,292#7 (1888)#7
1890s29,000#6 (1898)#6
1900s35,173#6 (1909)#7
1910s179,300#5 (1917)#6
1920s243,809#7 (1921)#8
1930s180,566#9 (1930)#10
1940s230,285#11 (1942)#13
1950s300,012#12 (1956)#13
1960s283,048#11 (1964)#13
1970s244,825#10 (1978)#12
1980s299,411#10 (1984)#11
1990s260,751#8 (1999)#11
2000s194,962#6 (2003)#10
2010s115,722#18 (2017)#21
2020s46,334#26 (2020)#29

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.

Joseph in 1991

girls
#1,677
88 births · 1 in 21,307 girls
boys
#9
29,840 births · 1 in 68 boys

Top girls' names in 1991

  1. #1Ashley43,477
  2. #2Jessica43,398
  3. #3Brittany29,093
  4. #4Amanda28,896
  5. #5Samantha25,651
  6. #6Sarah25,233
  7. #7Stephanie22,775
  8. #8Jennifer20,673
  9. #9Elizabeth20,395
  10. #10Emily20,311
  11. #1,677Joseph88

Top boys' names in 1991

  1. #1Michael60,810
  2. #2Christopher47,111
  3. #3Matthew41,647
  4. #4Joshua41,226
  5. #5Andrew31,539
  6. #6Daniel30,935
  7. #7James30,514
  8. #8David30,416
  9. #9Joseph29,840
  10. #10John27,809
More about 1991

girls

1,875,007 girls got a published name in 1991; 1 in 21,307 of them was named Joseph, which outranked 89.2% of the 15,466 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 14.9% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Joseph
  1. #1,669Rachele89
  2. #1,669Shala89
  3. #1,669Shane89
  4. #1,677Joseph88
  5. #1,677Adele88
  6. #1,677America88
  7. #1,677Areli88
  8. #1,689Aliza87
  9. #1,689Angelita87
  10. #1,689Anthony87

Tied with 11 names at #1,677; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1990
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,600Rebeccah#2,600 → #1,000
  2. ↑ 1,221Ieshia#1,938 → #717
  3. ↑ 1,135Miriah#2,081 → #946
  4. ↑ 861Alexus#1,813 → #952
  5. ↑ 676Chynna#1,512 → #836
Fallers
  1. ↓ 568Infant#432 → #1,000
  2. ↓ 510Lakeshia#897 → #1,407
  3. ↓ 466Latifah#701 → #1,167
  4. ↓ 432Martika#757 → #1,189
  5. ↓ 416Cecily#575 → #991

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

boys

2,020,328 boys got a published name in 1991; 1 in 68 of them was named Joseph, which outranked 99.9% of the 9,648 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 18.4% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Joseph
  1. #6Daniel30,935
  2. #7James30,514
  3. #8David30,416
  4. #9Joseph29,840
  5. #10John27,809
  6. #11Ryan27,536
  7. #12Nicholas27,357
Biggest movers since 1990
Risers
  1. ↑ 4,462Devante#5,382 → #920
  2. ↑ 1,656Unnamed#2,628 → #972
  3. ↑ 1,496Jaleel#2,373 → #877
  4. ↑ 811Gunnar#1,516 → #705
  5. ↑ 672Dijon#1,587 → #915
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,000Arsenio#744 → #1,744
  2. ↓ 773Brittany#995 → #1,768
  3. ↓ 281Infant#389 → #670
  4. ↓ 281Jarret#881 → #1,162
  5. ↓ 273Elton#963 → #1,236

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

See the top 100 for 1991 →