Joshua

maleBiblical Hebrew

From Hebrew Yehoshua, combining 'yeho' (referring to God) with 'yasha' ('to save') — 'Yahweh is salvation'. Joshua succeeded Moses as leader of the Israelites in the Old Testament.

Origin: Biblical Hebrew

Official popularity data is available for 7 regions, from 1971 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #1 in New Zealand in 2004. See regions.

Joshua: Recorded every year since 1971, it reached #1 in 1993, and it was still inside the top 100 in 2025.

7registrars recorded it
255times a registrar ranked it
55years from first to last
#1highest recorded position
45groupings it qualifies for
48names it appears alongside

What stands out in Joshua's record

Ranked inside the top 10 by 4 registrars, and #1 in 2 of them. Names by top-10 reach
Ranked every year since 1971, without a single year missing. Names by continuity of record
Held a top-100 place for 55 years running. Names by top-100 run
England and Wales registered 8,190 births with the name in 2003, its largest count from any one registrar. Names by yearly birth count

JOSH-oo-ah/ˈd͡ʒɑʃ.u.ə/

Compare Joshua Run Name Checker on Joshua

Data Confidence

Evidence: ModerateCompleteness: SubstantialEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (7) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Biblical Hebrew
Meaning: From Hebrew Yehoshua, combining 'yeho' (referring to God) with 'yasha' ('to save') — 'Yahweh is salvation'. Joshua succeeded Moses as leader of the Israelites in the Old Testament.
Pronunciation: JOSH-oo-ah
Syllables: 2
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: Traditional & modern
Gender usage: male
Language family: Biblical Hebrew

Popularity

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2025

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#5
1997	#5
1998	#5
1999	#4
2000	#4
2001	#3
2002	#2
2003	#2
2004	#2
2005	#2
2006	#3
2007	#4
2008	#5
2009	#5
2010	#8
2011	#9
2012	#11
2013	#12
2014	#13
2015	#16
2016	#16
2017	#15
2018	#17
2019	#20
2020	#23
2021	#31
2022	#35
2023	#40
2024	#50
2025	#53

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in New South Wales, Australia in every year from 1971 to 2024.

In 2025: #53 among boys in England and Wales, #81 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #405 among boys in Norway.

Official data from 7 national registrars across 7 regions, 1971–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1971
First recorded at #77 among boys in New South Wales, Australia in 1971 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New South Wales, Australia · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #53 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys

Joshua appears in 6 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is New South Wales, Australia · Boys, which has ranked it in 54 years beginning in 1971, and has registered 33,421 births with the name.

Joshua across 6 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Joshua's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
New South Wales, Australia · Boys	#77 (1971)	#1 (1993)	#76 (2024)	54 of 54	33,421 (1971–2024)	1,296 (1997)
Norway · Boys	#548 (1973)	#255 (2007)	#405 (2025)	45 of 53	459 (1973–2025)	19 (2007)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#288 (1974)	#17 (2003)	#81 (2025)	47 of 52	6,474 (1974–2025)	364 (2004)
New Zealand · Boys	#73 (1974)	#1 (1995)	#67 (2023)	50 of 50	17,661 (1974–2023)	712 (1996)
England and Wales · Boys	#5 (1996)	#2 (2002)	#53 (2025)	30 of 30	146,127 (1996–2025)	8,190 (2003)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#22 (1997)	#6 (2002)	#63 (2024)	28 of 28	3,843 (1997–2024)	238 (2002)

Joshua by decade in New South Wales, Australia · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Joshua in New South Wales, Australia · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1970s	1,776	9 of 10	197
1980s	7,314	10 of 10	731
1990sbusiest	11,759	10 of 10	1,176
2000s	8,164	10 of 10	816
2010s	3,727	10 of 10	373
2020s	681	5 of 10	136

Across New South Wales, Australia · Boys, the 1990s were its busiest decade, averaging 1,176 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1997 and 1998, when recorded births fell by 280, from 1,296 to 1,016.

See the names New South Wales, Australiahas recorded the most births with →

Joshua appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 7 registrars between 1971 and 2025, ranked in 55 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #1, first reached in 1993.

It held a top-100 place in 55 years, 55 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 8,190 births, registered in England and Wales in 2003.

4 registrars ranked it inside their own top 10. It reached #1 in 2 registrars' lists.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1973, and 53 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Joshua was ranked #1 in New South Wales, Australia · Boys in 1993. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Josh · #38, 36y
Joshan · #1190, 29y
Joshua-James · #1095, 27y
Josiah · #98, 30y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 7 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Amelia · #1, 59y
Isabella · #1, 59y
Sophie · #1, 59y
Ryan · #2, 55y

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1970 and 1979.

Ava · #1, 45y
Chloe · #1, 48y
Isla · #1, 32y
Katie · #1, 51y

Comparisons involving Joshua

Existing comparison pages where Joshua and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Joshua in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Joshua vs Samuel
Joshua and Samuel changed places 16 times in New Zealand · Boys between 1974 and 2023, ending at #67 and #50.
Joshua · Samuel · 50 shared years, 1974–2023 · Repeatedly exchanged positions
See the 2023 New Zealand ranking
Joshua vs Jake
Joshua and Jake changed places 13 times in Republic of Ireland · Boys between 1983 and 2025, ending at #81 and #95.
Joshua · Jake · 41 shared years, 1983–2025 · Repeatedly exchanged positions
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Joshua vs Conor
Joshua and Conor changed places 12 times in Northern Ireland · Boys between 1997 and 2024, ending at #63 and #51.
Joshua · Conor · 28 shared years, 1997–2024 · Repeatedly exchanged positions
See the 2024 Northern Ireland ranking

Closest long-running positions

Names that stayed close to Joshua within one registrar's list over many years. A gap measured inside that list, never across registrars.

Thomas vs Joshua
Across 30 shared years in England and Wales · Boys, Thomas and Joshua averaged 5.8 places apart, ending at #35 and #53.
Thomas · Joshua · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Closest over the longest run
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking
Joshua vs Adam
Across 28 shared years in Northern Ireland · Boys, Joshua and Adam averaged 6.6 places apart, ending at #63 and #38.
Joshua · Adam · 28 shared years, 1997–2024 · Closest over the longest run
See the 2024 Northern Ireland ranking
William vs Joshua
Across 30 shared years in England and Wales · Boys, William and Joshua averaged 7.5 places apart, ending at #25 and #53.
William · Joshua · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Closest over the longest run
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking

Order changes

Pairs where Joshua and another name exchanged position in a published list, taken as the final meaningful change.

Jack vs Joshua
In 2003, Jack moved ahead of Joshua in New South Wales, Australia · Boys — #2 and #1 the year before became #1 and #2.
Jack · Joshua · 39 shared years, 1986–2024 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 2003 New South Wales, Australia ranking
Joshua vs Liam
In 2010, Liam moved ahead of Joshua in New Zealand · Boys — #4 and #7 the year before became #6 and #1.
Joshua · Liam · 38 shared years, 1986–2023 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 2010 New Zealand ranking
Matthew vs Joshua
In 1995, Joshua moved ahead of Matthew in New Zealand · Boys — #1 and #3 the year before became #2 and #1.
Matthew · Joshua · 49 shared years, 1974–2023 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1995 New Zealand ranking

Compared inside New South Wales, Australia lists

Pairs involving Joshua measured in New South Wales, Australia's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Joshua at its highest position.

Joshua vs Blake
Both reached their highest recorded position in New South Wales, Australia · Boys within 2 years — Joshua #1 in 1993, Blake #21 in 1995.
Joshua · Blake · 35 shared years, 1982–2016 · Peaked in the same years
See the 1995 New South Wales, Australia ranking
Joshua vs Dylan
Both reached their highest recorded position in New South Wales, Australia · Boys within 2 years — Joshua #1 in 1993, Dylan #12 in 1995.
Joshua · Dylan · 39 shared years, 1983–2022 · Peaked in the same years
See the 1995 New South Wales, Australia ranking
Joshua vs Hayden
Both reached their highest recorded position in New South Wales, Australia · Boys within 2 years — Joshua #1 in 1993, Hayden #31 in 1994.
Joshua · Hayden · 28 shared years, 1987–2016 · Peaked in the same years
See the 1994 New South Wales, Australia ranking

New South Wales, Australia overview→

Joshua and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Joshua without appearing here.

Joshua moved ahead of

Roman
In 1995 they stood at #535 and #509 in Norway · Boys; by 1996 that had become #278 and #596.
Stig
In 2004 they stood at #412 and #341 in Norway · Boys; by 2005 that had become #344 and #559.
Oisin
In 2017 they stood at #50 and #11 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2018 that had become #52 and #247.
Caleb
In 1989 they stood at #330 and #282 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 1990 that had become #144 and #323.

Moved ahead of Joshua

Lukas
In 1988 they stood at #425 and #548 in Norway · Boys; by 1989 that had become #586 and #335.
Ludvig
In 1992 they stood at #339 and #408 in Norway · Boys; by 1993 that had become #464 and #277.
Nathan Compare
In 2015 they stood at #324 and #371 in Norway · Boys; by 2016 that had become #389 and #258.
Kasper
In 1982 they stood at #535 and #581 in Norway · Boys; by 1983 that had become #629 and #502.

Moved the opposite way to Joshua

Alan
Between 1974 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Joshua went from #288 to #81 while Alan went from #10 to #232.
Andreas
Between 1974 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Joshua went from #288 to #81 while Andreas went from #288 to #829.
Barry
Between 1974 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Joshua went from #288 to #81 while Barry went from #32 to #402.
Bruce
Between 1974 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Joshua went from #288 to #81 while Bruce went from #288 to #676.

Moved the same way as Joshua

Arthur Compare
Between 1974 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Joshua went from #288 to #81 and Arthur from #159 to #57.
Cian
Between 1974 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Joshua went from #288 to #81 and Cian from #154 to #33.
Cillian
Between 1974 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Joshua went from #288 to #81 and Cillian from #203 to #9.
Evan
Between 1974 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Joshua went from #288 to #81 and Evan from #182 to #80.

Meaning & Origin

From Hebrew Yehoshua, combining 'yeho' (referring to God) with 'yasha' ('to save') — 'Yahweh is salvation'. Joshua succeeded Moses as leader of the Israelites in the Old Testament.

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Biblical Hebrew

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Joshua is officially recorded

7 official registrars have recorded Joshua, between 1971 and 2025. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
New South Wales, Australia	1971–2024	54	#1 in 1993
Norway	1973–2025	45	#255 in 2007
Republic of Ireland	1974–2025	47	#17 in 2003
New Zealand	1974–2023	50	#1 in 1995
England and Wales	1996–2025	30	#2 in 2002
Northern Ireland	1997–2024	28	#6 in 2002
Scotland	2024	1	#60 in 2024

Its high point came 31 years earlier in New South Wales, Australia (1993) than in Scotland (2024).

Variants

No spelling variants or nicknames recorded yet.

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

No commonly used alternate spellings recorded.

Pronunciation

JOSH-oo-ah/ˈd͡ʒɑʃ.u.ə/

Syllables: 2
Ease: easy

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Where Joshua Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Joshua in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

New South Wales, AustraliaEngland and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of IrelandNorwayNew Zealand

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

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Joshua

Joshua at a glance

What stands out in Joshua's record

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Joshua across 6 official records

Joshua by decade in New South Wales, Australia · Boys

Joshua appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Joshua

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Comparisons involving Joshua

Longest shared records

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside New South Wales, Australia lists

Joshua and the names beside it

Joshua moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Joshua

Moved the opposite way to Joshua

Moved the same way as Joshua

Meaning & Origin

Where Joshua is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Joshua Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Joshua at a glance

What stands out in Joshua's record

Joshua across 6 official records

Joshua by decade in New South Wales, Australia · Boys

Joshua appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Joshua

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Comparisons involving Joshua

Longest shared records

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside New South Wales, Australia lists

Joshua and the names beside it

Joshua moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Joshua

Moved the opposite way to Joshua

Moved the same way as Joshua