Josian
A diminutive form of the French feminine name Josiane, derived from Joseph.
Name Census estimates that about 360 living Americans carry the first name Josian. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Josian today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Josian births was 2014 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Josian. 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
360
~ 1 in 952,095 Americans
Peak year
2014
21 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,533
Tracked since 1984
Census
Josian in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 429 people with the first name Josian, which placed it at #22,989 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
#22,989
National first-name rank
People counted
429
429 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
70.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Josian
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josian is Hispanic at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.3%) and White (11.9%). 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 Josian 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 Josian at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino70.6% · 303
- Black or African American13.3% · 57
- White11.9% · 51
- Two or more races2.6% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Josian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Josian from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 145 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Josian remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Josian 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 Josian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Josians live
Origin
Meaning and history of Josian
The name Josian has its roots in the Hebrew language and is a variation of the name Josiah, which means "God will support" or "God will heal." This name finds its origins in ancient Judaic culture, dating back to biblical times.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Josian can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible, where it refers to a king of Judah who reigned from 640 to 609 BCE. King Josiah is remembered for his efforts to reform the religious practices of his people and restore the worship of the God of Israel.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Josian remained in use among Jewish communities and eventually spread to other cultures through cultural exchange and migration. In the 12th century, a French nobleman named Josian de Souabe was recorded as a participant in the Third Crusade.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained popularity in Europe, particularly in England. One notable figure was Josian Arundel, an English courtier and landowner who lived from 1561 to 1639.
In the 17th century, Josian Priest, an English clergyman and writer, was born in 1601 and is known for his contributions to religious literature.
Another notable bearer of the name was Josian Conder, an English writer and artist who lived from 1789 to 1855. She was known for her literary works and her advocacy for women's education.
In the 19th century, Josian F. Willard, an American educator and activist, was born in 1839. She played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement and was a prominent figure in the fight for women's rights.
While the name Josian has been more commonly used as a masculine name throughout history, it has also been adopted as a feminine name in some cultures and regions.
People
Josian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Josian 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
Josian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Josian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 360 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Josian 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 952,095 US residents.
Is Josian a common name?
We classify Josian as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 364 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Josian most popular?
The single biggest year for Josian was 2014, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Josian is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Josian in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 429 people with the name Josian, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,989 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 Josian 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 Josian?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Josian leans strongly male. 387 people counted with this name were male (89.2%), compared with 47 female bearers (10.8%). 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 Josian?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josian is Hispanic at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.3%) and White (11.9%). 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 Josian most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Josian in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.6% (303 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 Josian in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Josian a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Josian 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 Josian still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Josian 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 Josian 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 are named Josian?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.