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Josph

JOH-sef /dʒoʏsɛf/

At a glance

U.S. rank 2025
Not in the 2025 data · last seen 1989 (#6,229)
Babies in 1989
7 (<0.01% of boys)
Peak
#2,093 in 1957
First recorded
1916

Meaning of Josph

The male given name Josph, which traces its etymology to the Hebrew Yosef—literally “Jehovah has added”—manifests an idiosyncratic orthographic variant of the more ubiquitous Joseph, thereby preserving its original theophoric significance while presenting a streamlined written form. Within Anglo-American naming conventions, Josph occupies an infrequent yet discernible position, its historical resonance anchored by the archetypal figure of Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob in the Hebrew Bible and the putative guardian of Jesus in the New Testament, whose enduring narrative has shaped Judeo-Christian onomastic traditions. Empirical data from United States Social Security records throughout the mid- and late-twentieth century corroborate the name’s episodic adoption—its modest occurrence rates reflecting a deliberate parental preference for appellations that fuse venerable heritage with distinctive orthography. Phonetically rendered as /dʒoʏsɛf/, Josph conforms to established English articulatory norms, ensuring that its pronunciation remains congruent with that of its conventional counterpart even as its spelling underscores individual identity. Consequently, the name Josph exemplifies a technically precise yet creatively adapted variant that bridges ancient etymology and contemporary nominative innovation.

How to pronounce Josph

English

Popularity of Josph in the U.S.

Josph was last recorded in the U.S. in 1989, ranked #6,229 with 7 babies. It peaked at #2,093 in 1957. It first appears in the records in 1916.

Bar and line chart: Josph in the U.S., 1916–1989. Bars: boys given the name each year, most 15 in 1957 and 7 in 1989. Line: rank among boy names, peak #2,093 in 1957, #6,229 in 1989.
  • Boys named Josph (left scale)
  • Rank among U.S. boy names (right scale, #1 at the top)
By year, 1916–1989. Source: SSA. Download: PNG · SVG
Year-by-year table, 1916⁠–⁠1989 47 rows
Josph: babies and rank among boy names in the U.S. by year
YearBabiesRankvs previous year
198976,229▼ 1,443
198894,786▲ 1,303
198766,089▼ 163
198665,926▼ 141
198565,785▼ 224
198465,561▼ 77
198365,484back (not recorded in 1981–1982)
1980123,430▲ 1,925
197965,355back (not recorded in 1978)
197755,845▼ 910
197664,935back (not recorded in 1973–1975)
197254,986▼ 1,616
197193,370▲ 860
197064,230▲ 174
196954,404back (not recorded in 1968)
196753,966▼ 717
196673,249▼ 5
196573,244▲ 38
196473,282▲ 364
196363,646▼ 973
1962102,673back (not recorded in 1961)
196063,665▲ 323
195953,988▼ 1,482
1958112,506▼ 413
1957152,093▲ 1,123
195673,216▼ 997
1955132,219▼ 12
1954132,207▲ 502
195392,709▲ 386
195273,095▼ 433
195192,662▼ 341
1950112,321▲ 977
194963,298▲ 370
194853,668back (not recorded in 1947)
194672,919back (not recorded in 1944–1945)
194353,538▼ 326
194263,212▲ 293
194153,505back (not recorded in 1933–1940)
193253,776back (not recorded in 1929–1931)
192854,151▼ 700
192773,451▼ 885
1926112,566back (not recorded in 1925)
192463,867▼ 692
192383,175back (not recorded in 1921–1922)
192073,489back (not recorded in 1918–1919)
191773,217▲ 680
191653,897new