Joseiah
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "Jehovah heals" or "Jehovah supports".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Joseiah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Joseiah today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joseiah births was 2008 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joseiah. 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 Joseiah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2008
5 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2008 SSA rank
#13,524
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Joseiah: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Joseiah 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 Joseiah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Joseiah
The name Joseiah has its origins in the ancient Hebrew language, derived from the combination of two words: "Yah" (a shortened form of the divine name Yahweh) and "hoshea" (meaning "to save" or "to deliver"). It emerged during the biblical period and carries the meaning of "Jehovah saves" or "Yahweh delivers".
In the Old Testament, the name Joseiah is mentioned as the name of a prominent king of Judah who reigned from around 640 to 609 BCE. King Joseiah is renowned for his religious reforms and his efforts to restore the worship of Yahweh, as recorded in the books of Kings and Chronicles. He played a significant role in rediscovering the Book of the Law during the renovation of the Temple in Jerusalem.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Joseiah can be found in the Bible, specifically in 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34, where it refers to the aforementioned king of Judah. Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Joseiah.
Joseiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) was an English potter and entrepreneur, recognized as the founder of the Wedgwood company and a pioneering figure in the industrialization of the manufacturing process.
Joseiah Quincy (1744-1775) was an American lawyer and patriot who played a crucial role in the events leading up to the American Revolution. He was a prominent advocate for colonial rights and was known for his fiery speeches against British rule.
Joseiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903) was an American scientist and mathematician, renowned for his contributions to the fields of thermodynamics, physical chemistry, and statistical mechanics. He is considered one of the greatest scientific minds of the 19th century.
Joseiah Royce (1855-1916) was an American philosopher and author, best known for his work on idealism and the philosophy of community. He was a prominent figure in the development of American pragmatism and a respected professor at Harvard University.
Joseiah Titzler (1868-1948) was a German-American painter and illustrator, known for his landscape paintings and his work as an illustrator for popular magazines and books in the early 20th century.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who carried the name Joseiah throughout history, each leaving a significant impact in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human achievement.
People
Joseiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joseiah 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
Joseiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joseiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joseiah 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 Joseiah a common name?
We classify Joseiah 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 Joseiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Joseiah was 2008, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joseiah is about 18 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 Joseiah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Joseiah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Joseiah 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 Joseiah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Joseiah 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 Joseiah 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 Americans are named Joseiah?
Want to know how many people share the name Joseiah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.