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Joshua

Gender
Boy
Say it
JOSH-oo-a
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#52 for boys
US rank, 2025
#66 for boys
Style
Classic

Joshua is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “God is salvation”. In 2025 it ranked 52nd for boys in the UK (1,043 babies) and 66th for boys in the US (4,773 babies).

What does Joshua mean?

Hebrew

“God is salvation”

Joshua succeeded Moses and led the Israelites into Canaan, famously bringing down the walls of Jericho.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Joshua a girl's or a boy's name?

Joshua is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 1,043 boys in the UK and 4,773 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.

How popular is Joshua in the UK?

Rank in 2025
52nd among boys
Babies in 2025
1,043 about 1 in 290 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 55% in five years
Same name in a class
4.8% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 1,043 boys in the UK were named Joshua, making it the 52nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 26th. Its busiest year was 2002, with 8,708 boys.

It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 9 years. 2025 had the fewest boys named Joshua since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the boys named Joshua in the UK since 1996 were born between 2000 and 2012. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

Among boys in 2025, it was 53rd in England and Wales, 75th in Scotland and 55th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1984 (#78), 1994 (#7), 2004 (#2), 2014 (#13) and 2024 (#50).

1996Busiest: 8,708 in 20022025
Joshua in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
20251,043#52
20241,150#50
20231,467#40
20221,624#38
20211,922#30
20202,193#26
20192,726#21
20183,208#17
20173,430#15
20163,800#15
20153,701#15
20144,133#13
20134,306#12
20124,820#11
20115,138#10
20105,601#7
20095,891#5
20086,192#5
20076,483#4
20067,008#3
20057,657#2
20048,281#2
20038,708#2
20028,708#2
20017,609#4
20007,482#4
19997,595#4
19988,032#6
19978,026#6
19968,052#5

How popular is Joshua in the US?

Rank in 2025
66th among boys
Babies in 2025
4,773 about 1 in 360 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 25% in five years
Same name in a class
3.8% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 4,773 boys in the US were named Joshua, making it the 66th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 53rd. Its busiest year was 1989, with 44,100 boys.

2025 had fewer boys named Joshua than any year since 1971.

Half of all the boys named Joshua in the US since 1880 were born between 1984 and 2002, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 44,100 in 19892025
Joshua in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
20254,773#66
20245,268#57
20235,070#60
20225,197#60
20215,531#58
20206,015#53
20196,631#48
20187,446#40
20178,353#38
20169,258#35
20159,850#33
201410,929#25
201311,861#21
201212,681#17
201113,797#14
201015,467#11
200917,671#6
200819,231#4
200720,669#4
200622,336#3
200523,261#3
200424,214#3
200325,106#3
200225,998#3
200126,024#4
200027,543#4
199927,265#4
199828,095#4
199728,289#5
199629,175#5
199530,720#5
199431,374#4
199333,590#4
199236,221#4
199141,226#4
199043,237#4
198944,100#4
198842,653#4
198740,002#4
198637,542#4
198542,194#4
198440,266#4
198336,687#5
198238,004#7
198139,024#6
198036,052#7
197931,120#9
197825,204#12
197722,068#14
197616,845#18
197514,567#26
197411,599#29
19738,057#42
19725,033#59
19713,650#80
19702,175#150
19691,321#197
1968731#271
1967563#314
1966486#340
1965461#352
1964389#407
1963372#416
1962335#436
1961354#423
1960314#454
1959328#440
1958276#477
1957273#466
1956239#490
1955245#470
1954193#523
1953164#550
1952178#522
1951165#529
1950160#536
1949183#489
1948129#586
1947141#568
1946113#608
194597#612
1944104#601
194395#655
1942111#591
194193#628
194090#626
1939101#569
193871#724
193792#605
1936101#573
193580#663
1934106#574
1933102#569
1932111#560
193194#611
193090#645
192974#729
1928118#562
1927117#569
1926105#612
1925109#605
1924114#594
1923129#539
1922124#571
1921125#562
1920128#542
1919139#503
1918118#552
1917122#522
191699#581
1915136#472
191487#528
191378#492
191260#507
191143#446
191044#396
190928#487
190829#452
190726#457
190627#424
190518#549
190419#492
190321#451
190217#521
190122#399
190036#365
189924#376
189839#298
189729#346
189630#352
189529#340
189424#376
189323#371
189241#284
189124#349
189024#358
188933#294
188850#245
188741#247
188655#228
188543#251
188441#265
188355#202
188250#235
188140#244
188057#211

Nicknames for Joshua

Names like Joshua

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Benjamin, Jacob, Adam, Nathan, Samuel, Daniel, Ethan, Elliot, Alexander, Matthew, Toby, Luke

Other spellings of Joshua

Joshuah

Names related to Joshua

Josiah, Josh, Josue, Jeshua, Josyah, Josai, Jashua

More Hebrew names

Noah, Isabella, Elijah, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Isaac, Elias, Mateo, Elsie, Levi, Eliana, Joseph

Every Hebrew name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Joshua: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/joshua, updated 20 October 2026.