Joahua
Masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is salvation".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Joahua. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Joahua today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joahua births was 1987 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joahua. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Joahua. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1987
5 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1987 SSA rank
#7,512
Tracked since 1987
Popularity
Joahua: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Joahua 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 Joahua during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Joahua
The name Joahua is derived from the Hebrew name Yehoshua, which is a combination of two Hebrew words: "Yeho" meaning "Yahweh" (the Hebrew name for God) and "shua" meaning "salvation" or "deliverance." The name Yehoshua is transliterated into Greek as "Iēsous" and then into Latin as "Iesus," which eventually became the English name "Jesus."
The earliest recorded use of the name Joahua can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible, where it refers to Joshua, the successor of Moses and the leader who led the Israelites into the Promised Land. Joshua was a prominent figure in the book of Exodus and the book that bears his name, the Book of Joshua.
One of the most famous people in history with the name Joahua is Joshua, the biblical figure mentioned above. He lived around the 13th century BCE and is revered in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for his role in leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.
Another notable person named Joahua was Joshua ben Hananiah, a Jewish scholar and leader who lived in the 1st century CE. He was a prominent figure in the Great Sanhedrin, the highest court and legislative body in ancient Israel.
In the 6th century CE, there was a figure named Joshua the Stylite, a Christian ascetic and writer who lived on a pillar near Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) for several decades.
During the medieval period, there was a Jewish philosopher and commentator named Joshua ibn Shuaib, who lived in Spain in the 11th century CE. He wrote extensively on topics such as mathematics, astronomy, and theology.
In the 16th century, there was a Jewish scholar named Joshua Falk, who was a prominent rabbi and Talmudic authority in Poland. He wrote several influential works on Jewish law and tradition.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Joahua or its variations, reflecting the name's deep roots in religious and cultural traditions.
People
Joahua + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joahua as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Joahua: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joahua?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joahua 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Joahua a common name?
We classify Joahua as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joahua most popular?
The single biggest year for Joahua was 1987, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joahua is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Joahua in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Joahua a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Joahua 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.
Is Joahua still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Joahua in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Joahua can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Joahua as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.