Joshusa
Hebrew name meaning "whose help is Jehovah" or "Jehovah the Savior".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Joshusa. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Joshusa today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joshusa births was 1987 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joshusa. 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 Joshusa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1987
5 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1988 SSA rank
#7,873
Tracked since 1987
Census
Joshusa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 128 people with the first name Joshusa, which placed it at #49,019 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
#49,019
National first-name rank
People counted
128
128 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joshusa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joshusa is White at 46.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.4%) and Black (16.4%). 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 Joshusa 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 Joshusa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.9% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino23.4% · 30
- Black or African American16.4% · 21
- Two or more races6.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 4
Popularity
Joshusa: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Joshusa 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 Joshusa 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 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Joshusa
The name Joshusa is a unique and intriguing one that has its roots in ancient history. It is believed to have originated from the ancient Sumerian language, spoken in the region of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3500-3000 BCE. The name is thought to be derived from the Sumerian words "joshu" and "sa," which roughly translate to "strong" and "leader," respectively.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Joshusa can be found in the ancient Sumerian epic "The Epic of Gilgamesh," one of the earliest known literary works in human history, dating back to around 2100 BCE. In this epic, a character named Joshusa is depicted as a wise and brave warrior, known for his strength and leadership qualities.
Throughout history, the name Joshusa has been associated with various notable figures. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Joshusa of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century BCE. He was known for his teachings on ethics and virtue.
In the 3rd century CE, there was a Christian martyr named Joshusa of Nicomedia, who was executed for his faith during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. His unwavering devotion and courage in the face of adversity made him a revered figure in early Christian history.
During the Middle Ages, a notable figure with the name Joshusa was Joshusa ibn Masawayh, an influential Persian physician and philosopher who lived in the 9th century CE. He made significant contributions to the fields of medicine and philosophy, and his works were widely studied in the Islamic world.
In the 16th century, there was a Portuguese explorer named Joshusa da Gama, who played a crucial role in the Age of Discovery. He is best known for his successful voyage to India, which opened up new trade routes and marked the beginning of European colonialism in Asia.
Another notable figure with the name Joshusa was Joshusa Reynolds, an English painter who lived in the 18th century (1723-1792). He is regarded as one of the most influential painters of his time and is celebrated for his portraiture and his promotion of the "Grand Manner" style in art.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Joshusa. While the name may be uncommon in modern times, its rich history and associations with strength, leadership, and wisdom make it a name with a fascinating and enduring legacy.
People
Joshusa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joshusa 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
Joshusa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joshusa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joshusa 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Joshusa a common name?
We classify Joshusa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joshusa most popular?
The single biggest year for Joshusa was 1987, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joshusa 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 Joshusa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 128 people with the name Joshusa, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,019 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 Joshusa 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 Joshusa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Joshusa leans strongly male. 117 people counted with this name were male (95.9%), compared with 5 female bearers (4.1%). 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 Joshusa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joshusa is White at 46.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.4%) and Black (16.4%). 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 Joshusa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Joshusa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.9% (60 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 Joshusa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Joshusa a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Joshusa 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 Joshusa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Joshusa 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 Joshusa 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 Joshusa?
You can see how many Americans are named Joshusa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.