Hosea
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "He saves" or "Salvation".
Name Census estimates that about 3,204 living Americans carry the first name Hosea. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hosea today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hosea births was 1925 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hosea. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
3.2K
~ 1 in 106,977 Americans
Peak year
1925
74 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,343
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Hosea
Out of the 5,434 babies given the name Hosea since 1880, 99.6% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Hosea as a male name
- Ranked #2,343 in 2024
- 60 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1925 (74 births)
Hosea as a female name
- Ranked #4,617 in 1931
- 5 female births in 1931
- Peak: 1914 (5 births)
Popularity
Hosea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hosea from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 593 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Hosea remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hosea by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Hosea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hoseas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia recorded the most babies named Hosea, while Virginia, Oklahoma, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 66 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hosea
The name Hosea has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the Hebrew word "hoshea" which means "salvation" or "deliverance." The name Hosea can be traced back to the 8th century BCE when it was borne by the Hebrew prophet Hosea, who was one of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible.
The Book of Hosea, one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, is attributed to the prophet Hosea. This book contains the prophecies and teachings of Hosea, who lived during the reign of Jeroboam II, the King of Israel, in the 8th century BCE. The book is known for its symbolic portrayal of the relationship between God and the people of Israel, represented through the metaphor of a marriage.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Hosea is found in the Hebrew Bible, where the prophet Hosea is mentioned. Apart from the prophet himself, there are a few other biblical figures who bore the name Hosea. One such figure was the son of Beeri, who lived during the reign of Jeroboam II.
Throughout history, the name Hosea has been borne by several notable individuals. One such person was Hosea Stout (1810-1889), an American pioneer and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who played a significant role in the settlement of Utah.
Another notable bearer of the name was Hosea Ballou (1771-1852), an American Universalist minister and theologian, who was a prominent figure in the Universalist Church of America during the 19th century.
Hosea Williams (1926-2000) was an American civil rights leader and activist who worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement. He played a crucial role in the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965.
Hosea Gear (born 1985) is a New Zealand rugby union player who has represented the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team, and has played in several international tournaments, including the Rugby World Cup.
Hosea Kiprotich (born 1989) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in marathon running. He has won several international marathons, including the Hamburg Marathon in 2015 and the Paris Marathon in 2017.
People
Hosea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hosea as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hosea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hosea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,204 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hosea going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 106,977 US residents.
Is Hosea a common name?
We classify Hosea as "Rare". It ranks above 95.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,434 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hosea most popular?
The single biggest year for Hosea was 1925, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hosea is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hosea a male name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Hosea in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.