Yossi
A diminutive of the Hebrew name Yosef, which means "he will add".
Name Census estimates that about 521 living Americans carry the first name Yossi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yossi today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yossi births was 2023 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yossi. 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
521
~ 1 in 657,878 Americans
Peak year
2023
49 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,940
Tracked since 1990
Popularity
Yossi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yossi from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 227 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yossi 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 Yossi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yossis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yossi
The name Yossi is a Hebrew diminutive form of the Biblical name Joseph. It originates from the Hebrew word "yasaf," meaning "he will add." The name Joseph first appeared in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, where it was borne by one of the twelve sons of Jacob.
In the biblical narrative, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers but later rose to become a powerful figure in Egypt. He played a crucial role in interpreting Pharaoh's dreams and helped save Egypt from famine, ultimately reuniting with his family.
The earliest recorded use of the name Yossi dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was commonly used among Jewish communities in Europe and the Middle East. One of the earliest notable figures with the name Yossi was Yossi ben Yoezer, a Jewish sage who lived in the 2nd century BCE and was a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of ancient Israel.
In the 16th century, Yossi Ben Shushan was a prominent Jewish author and scholar who wrote extensively on Jewish law and philosophy. His works, including the "Yossi Ben Shushan" commentary on the Talmud, had a significant impact on the study of Jewish texts.
Another notable figure was Yossi ben Yochanan, a Talmudic scholar who lived in the 3rd century CE. He is known for his contributions to the Mishnah, the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism.
In the 20th century, Yossi Banai was an Israeli singer-songwriter and actor who was born in 1932 and passed away in 2006. He was a prominent figure in the Israeli music scene and is considered one of the founders of the Israeli rock genre.
Yossi Beilin, born in 1948, is an Israeli politician and scholar who served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) and played a significant role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, including the Oslo Accords.
People
Yossi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yossi 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
Yossi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yossi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 521 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yossi 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 657,878 US residents.
Is Yossi a common name?
We classify Yossi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 525 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yossi most popular?
The single biggest year for Yossi was 2023, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yossi is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yossi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yossi 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.
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.