Josu
A Spanish masculine diminutive form of the name "José".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Josu. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Josu today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Josu births was 2017 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Josu. 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 Josu. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2017
6 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2017 SSA rank
#11,440
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Josu: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Josu 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 Josu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Josu
The name Josu has its origins in the Basque language, spoken in the Basque Country, a region straddling parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. The name is derived from the Basque word "jotsu," which means "humble" or "modest." It is believed to have been in use as a given name since at least the Middle Ages.
Josu is a variant of the Spanish name José, which in turn is derived from the Hebrew name Yosef or Joseph. The biblical figure Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, was a prominent figure in the Old Testament and the Quran. His story is recounted in the Book of Genesis and the Quran's Surah Yusuf.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Josu dates back to the 12th century, when a Basque nobleman named Josu Ruiz de Garibay was mentioned in historical records. In the 16th century, Josu Jiménez de Quesada, a Spanish explorer and conquistador, founded the city of Bogotá in present-day Colombia.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Josu. For instance, Josu Ternera (1927-1987) was a prominent leader of the Basque separatist group ETA. Josu Urrutia (1928-2003) was a Basque writer and poet, known for his contributions to Basque literature.
Another prominent figure was Josu Muguruza (1932-2020), a Basque politician and activist who served as the first Lehendakari (President) of the Basque Autonomous Community from 1980 to 1985. Josu Jon Imaz (1963-2022) was a renowned Basque chef and restaurateur, known for promoting Basque cuisine globally.
Josu Currais (born 1974) is a Spanish actor and director, who has appeared in numerous films and television shows. Josu Uribe (born 1986) is a professional Spanish footballer who has played for several clubs, including Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad.
People
Josu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Josu 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
Josu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Josu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Josu 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Josu a common name?
We classify Josu as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Josu most popular?
The single biggest year for Josu was 2017, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Josu is about 9 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 Josu in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Josu a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Josu 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 Josu still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Josu 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 Josu 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 Josu?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Josu, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.