Josephpaul
A compound masculine name combining "Joseph", Hebrew in origin meaning "he will add", and "Paul", Latin in origin meaning "small" or "humble".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Josephpaul. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Josephpaul today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Josephpaul births was 1989 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Josephpaul. 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 Josephpaul. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1989
5 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1989 SSA rank
#8,528
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Josephpaul: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Josephpaul 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 Josephpaul 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 Josephpaul
The given name Josephpaul is a combination of two distinct names, Joseph and Paul, each with its own rich history and meaning. Joseph is a name derived from the Hebrew name Yosef, which means "he will add" or "he will increase." It is one of the oldest names recorded in the Bible, with Joseph being a prominent figure in the Book of Genesis.
The name Paul has its roots in the Latin name Paulus, which means "small" or "humble." It was a common name during the Roman Empire and was borne by the apostle Paul, one of the most influential figures in early Christianity. The combination of these two names, Josephpaul, is believed to have emerged in the late medieval period, possibly as a way to honor both Saint Joseph and Saint Paul.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Josephpaul can be found in the 14th century, when a monk named Josephpaul of Padua lived in Italy. In the 16th century, a Spanish Jesuit priest named Josephpaul Acosta made significant contributions to the study of natural history and the indigenous cultures of the Americas.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Josephpaul. Josephpaul Gaimard (1793-1858) was a French naval officer and naturalist who participated in several scientific expeditions. Josephpaul Anglade (1868-1932) was a French philologist and literary critic known for his work on medieval literature. Josephpaul Franck (1894-1976) was a Dutch-American physicist who made important contributions to quantum mechanics and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1925.
Josephpaul Biner (1904-1988) was a Swiss Olympic athlete who competed in the decathlon and won a silver medal in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. Josephpaul Rivière (1923-2010) was a French actor and filmmaker who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Josephpaul throughout history, each contributing to their respective fields and leaving a lasting impact on the world around them.
People
Josephpaul + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Josephpaul 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
Josephpaul: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Josephpaul?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Josephpaul 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 Josephpaul a common name?
We classify Josephpaul 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 Josephpaul most popular?
The single biggest year for Josephpaul was 1989, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Josephpaul is about 36 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 Josephpaul in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Josephpaul a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Josephpaul 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 Josephpaul still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Josephpaul 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 Josephpaul 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 the name Josephpaul?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Josephpaul at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.