boy's name
Joshua
JOSH-oo-uh
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 1,481,022
the United States
#66
2025 births
Joshua is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is salvation," from Yehoshua. He succeeds Moses and leads the Israelites into Canaan, and his name is the direct source of the name Jesus.
- Joshua is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1989, when 44,308 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 695 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Joshua over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 465 |
| 1890s | 287 |
| 1900s | 243 |
| 1910s | 926 |
| 1920s | 1,143 |
| 1930s | 948 |
| 1940s | 1,156 |
| 1950s | 2,221 |
| 1960s | 5,339 |
| 1970s | 141,119 |
| 1980s | 399,085 |
| 1990s | 330,123 |
| 2000s | 232,528 |
| 2010s | 106,416 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 31,883 |
What Joshua means
Joshua means Yahweh is salvation or Yahweh saves, combining a shortened form of the divine name with yasha, to save. It is the same name as Jesus, which reached English by a different linguistic route.
Where Joshua comes from
Joshua comes from the Hebrew Yehoshua, from Yah and yasha, to deliver or save. Numbers records that Moses renamed him from Hoshea to Yehoshua, adding the divine element. Joshua succeeds Moses and leads the Israelites across the Jordan into Canaan. Crucially, the later Aramaic short form Yeshua passed into Greek as Iesous and into Latin as Iesus, producing English Jesus — so Joshua and Jesus are the same original name, one taken from Hebrew and one through Greek. English adopted Joshua after the Reformation, and it was heavily used by Puritan settlers in America.
Joshua in use
Joshua and Jesus are the same Hebrew name, separated only by which language carried it into English.
How popular is Joshua?
In 2025, Joshua was given to 4,773 babies in the United States, ranking #66 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Joshua is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Joshua
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Joshua also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Joshua over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Joshua
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Joshua in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Joshua
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Joshua — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Joshua
What does the name Joshua mean?
Joshua means "Yahweh is salvation," from the Hebrew Yehoshua.
Is Joshua the same name as Jesus?
Yes. Both descend from Yehoshua — Jesus by way of Aramaic and Greek, Joshua directly from Hebrew.
Who was Joshua in the Bible?
Moses's successor, who led the Israelites across the Jordan into Canaan.
How popular is the name Joshua?
In 2025, Joshua was given to 4,773 babies in the United States, ranking #66 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Joshua a girl's or a boy's name?
Joshua is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Joshua?
Joshua has 3 syllables.
When was Joshua most popular?
Joshua peaked in 1989, when 44,308 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Joshua?
Joshua is usually shortened to Josh and Joss.
Is Joshua a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Joshua currently ranks #53 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.