Yoshiyahu
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is salvation".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Yoshiyahu. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yoshiyahu today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yoshiyahu births was 2021 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yoshiyahu. 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 Yoshiyahu. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2021
5 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2021 SSA rank
#14,016
Tracked since 2021
Popularity
Yoshiyahu: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Yoshiyahu 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 Yoshiyahu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Yoshiyahu
The name Yoshiyahu originates from the Hebrew language and culture, with its roots dating back to ancient times. The name is derived from the Hebrew words "yoshi" meaning "salvation" and "yahu" referring to the name of the Israelite God, Yahweh.
One of the earliest and most notable historical references to the name Yoshiyahu can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where it appears as the name of King Josiah, a prominent monarch of the Kingdom of Judah who reigned from approximately 649 to 609 BCE. King Josiah is renowned for his religious reforms and efforts to revive the worship of Yahweh in the ancient Israelite kingdom.
The name Yoshiyahu has been carried by several notable figures throughout history. One such individual was Yoshiyahu ben Avraham Pinto (1565-1648), a renowned Hakham (Jewish scholar) and rabbinic authority in the Ottoman Empire, known for his works on Jewish law and ethics. Another prominent bearer of the name was Yoshiyahu Salanter (1793-1879), a renowned Lithuanian-Jewish rabbi and founder of the Musar movement, which emphasized ethical and spiritual self-improvement.
In more recent times, Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto (born 1973) is a well-known Sephardic rabbi and kabbalist, who has attracted a significant following both in Israel and internationally. Additionally, Yoshiyahu Avner (born 1948) is an Israeli politician and former member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament), who served as the Speaker of the Knesset from 2003 to 2006.
Another notable figure bearing the name Yoshiyahu was Yoshiyahu Yosef Rivlin (1838-1909), a prominent rabbi and Talmudic scholar in Jerusalem during the late 19th century. He was known for his expertise in Jewish law and his role in resolving complex legal disputes within the Jewish community.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and notable individuals who have carried the name Yoshiyahu throughout the centuries, reflecting its deep roots in the Hebrew language and culture, as well as its enduring significance within the Jewish tradition.
People
Yoshiyahu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yoshiyahu as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yoshiyahu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yoshiyahu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yoshiyahu 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 Yoshiyahu a common name?
We classify Yoshiyahu 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 Yoshiyahu most popular?
The single biggest year for Yoshiyahu was 2021, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yoshiyahu is about 5 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 Yoshiyahu in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yoshiyahu a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yoshiyahu 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 Yoshiyahu still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yoshiyahu 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 Yoshiyahu 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 common is the name Yoshiyahu?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Yoshiyahu, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.