Find out how popular the last name Joseph is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Joseph.

Joseph, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Joseph surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Joseph in America

Joseph is the 313th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Joseph surname appeared 100,959 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 34 people would have the surname Joseph.

We can also compare 2010 data for Joseph to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Joseph

The surname Joseph originated from the biblical Hebrew given name Yosef, meaning "he will add" or "he will increase." It is derived from the root yasaf, meaning "to add" or "to increase." The name gained popularity during the medieval period, particularly in regions with a significant Christian presence.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Joseph can be traced back to the 12th century in England and France. In the Domesday Book, a record of landowners in England compiled in 1086, there are several references to individuals with the given name Joseph, indicating its usage at the time.

Joseph is a patronymic surname, meaning it was initially derived from the given name of a father or ancestor. It became a hereditary surname as families began adopting fixed surnames in the 12th and 13th centuries. The surname was particularly prevalent in areas with strong Christian traditions, such as England, France, and parts of Germany and Italy.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname Joseph was William Joseph, who lived in Gloucestershire, England, in the late 12th century. Another notable early bearer was Sir John Joseph, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 during the Hundred Years' War between England and France.

In the 16th century, the surname Joseph gained prominence in various parts of Europe, with notable figures such as the Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526-1593) and the German composer and organist Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741).

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Joseph spread to other parts of the world through migration and exploration. Notable individuals from this period include the French explorer Pierre-Joseph Céloron de Blainville (1693-1759), who explored the Ohio River Valley in North America, and the American Quaker minister Joseph Oxley (1715-1786), who was instrumental in the establishment of Quaker settlements in Pennsylvania.

Other notable bearers of the surname Joseph throughout history include the British explorer and surveyor Joseph Banks (1743-1820), who accompanied Captain James Cook on his famous voyages, and the American playwright and screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909-1993), known for films such as "All About Eve" and "Cleopatra."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Joseph

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Joseph.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Joseph was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Joseph has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Joseph was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Joseph, please contact us.

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