Joshaua
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is salvation".
Name Census estimates that about 201 living Americans carry the first name Joshaua. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Joshaua today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joshaua births was 1981 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joshaua. 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
201
~ 1 in 1,705,245 Americans
Peak year
1981
16 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2009 SSA rank
#10,396
Tracked since 1974
Census
Joshaua in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 227 people with the first name Joshaua, which placed it at #35,437 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#35,437
National first-name rank
People counted
227
227 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joshaua
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joshaua is White at 71.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and Black (8.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Joshaua described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Joshaua at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.4% · 162
- Hispanic or Latino15.0% · 34
- Black or African American8.4% · 19
- Two or more races3.1% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Popularity
Joshaua: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Joshaua from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 84 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Joshaua 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 Joshaua during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Joshaua
The name Joshaua is derived from the Hebrew language, with its origins tracing back to ancient times. It is a variant spelling of the biblical name Joshua, which means "God is salvation" or "God is deliverance." This name has deep religious significance and is found in various sacred texts, including the Old Testament of the Bible.
The earliest recorded use of the name Joshaua can be found in ancient Hebrew scriptures, where it refers to Joshua, the successor of Moses who led the Israelites into the Promised Land. Joshua, the son of Nun, is a prominent figure in the Book of Joshua, where he is portrayed as a courageous and faithful leader who conquered the land of Canaan.
Throughout history, the name Joshaua has been borne by numerous notable individuals. One of the earliest examples is Joshaua ben Perahyah, a Jewish sage who lived in the 2nd century BCE and was a prominent leader of the Sanhedrin, the supreme court and legislative body in ancient Israel.
In the 1st century CE, Joshaua ben Hananiah was a renowned Jewish scholar and a member of the Sanhedrin. He is remembered for his contributions to the development of Jewish law and his teachings on ethics and morality.
During the medieval period, Joshaua ibn Gayyath was a prominent Jewish poet and philosopher who lived in Spain in the 11th century. He was renowned for his works on philosophy, theology, and mathematics, and his writings had a significant influence on both Jewish and Arabic intellectual circles.
In the 16th century, Joshaua Sylvester was an English poet and translator who played a significant role in the development of English poetry. He is best known for his translation of the works of the French poet Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas, which introduced new poetic forms and techniques to English literature.
Another notable figure from the 17th century is Joshaua Barnett, an English Puritan clergyman and author who was a prominent figure in the religious and political struggles of his time. He wrote several influential works on theology and was known for his strong opposition to the policies of King Charles I.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have borne the name Joshaua throughout history. The name's deep religious roots and its association with biblical figures have contributed to its enduring popularity across various cultures and time periods.
People
Joshaua + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joshaua 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
Joshaua: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joshaua?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 201 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joshaua 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 1,705,245 US residents.
Is Joshaua a common name?
We classify Joshaua as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 209 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joshaua most popular?
The single biggest year for Joshaua was 1981, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joshaua is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Joshaua in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 227 people with the name Joshaua, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,437 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Joshaua in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Joshaua?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Joshaua appears almost entirely male. Of the 229 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Joshaua?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joshaua is White at 71.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and Black (8.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Joshaua most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Joshaua in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.4% (162 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Joshaua in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Joshaua a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Joshaua 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 Joshaua still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Joshaua 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 Joshaua 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.
How many people share the name Joshaua?
You can see how many Americans are named Joshaua on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.