Male name
Joseph
103,070 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 1996. Expression number: 1.
Origin
From Latin Joseph, coming from the Hebrew יוֹסֵף, Yosef ("God will add"). Josep, around 1140 Joseph.Translated by Arcanes from the French Wiktionnaire, entry “Joseph”, text and translation under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 1996: 6,193 births. 103,070 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. At its peak, it ranked 7th among boys' names in 2000. It is still given: 5,216 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 1956: 32,832 births. 2,680,213 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given steadily, decade after decade, from the 1910s to the 2000s. At its peak, it ranked 5th among boys' names in 1912. It is still given: 37,894 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 1964: 737 births. 19,547 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. At its peak, it ranked 11th among boys' names in 1964. It is still given: 508 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 380,600 | 1900–2025 | 4th in 1900 |
| Quebec | 3,410 | 1980–2025 | 77th in 2000 |
| Switzerland | 3,268* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Austria | 598 | 1984–2025 | — |
| Argentina | 470 | 2012–2023 | — |
| Berlin | 337 | 2012–2023 | — |
| Belgium | 127 | 2014–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms, Etalab Open Licence 2.0; Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; Statistik Austria, Vornamen, CC BY 4.0; RENAPER, Nombres propios en Argentina, CC BY 4.0 (the registry doesn't record sex); Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first); Statbel, first names of newborns, CC BY 4.0 (one total for the whole period, no yearly breakdown).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
1
initiative, independence, beginnings
1 + 6 + 1 + 5 + 7 + 8 = 28 → 1
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
11
intuition and inspiration (master number)
6 + 5 = 11
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
8
power, achievement, your relationship with money
1 + 1 + 7 + 8 = 17 → 8
- Digits missing from the name
- 2, 3, 4, 9
- Most frequent digit
- 1 · initiative, independence, beginnings
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.