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

Joshua, 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 Joshua surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Joshua in America

Joshua is the 9552nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Joshua surname appeared 3,403 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Joshua.

We can also compare 2010 data for Joshua 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 Joshua

The surname Joshua is primarily an English surname derived from the Hebrew personal name Yehoshua, which means "Yahweh is salvation" or "God is deliverance." The name has its roots in biblical times and is associated with the leader Joshua, who succeeded Moses and led the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Joshua can be traced back to the 13th century in England. It is believed to have been adopted as a surname by individuals who had a connection to the biblical figure Joshua, either through their own faith or as a form of veneration.

In medieval times, the name Joshua appeared in various records and manuscripts, including the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the surname was already in use during the Norman period.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Joshua was John Joshua, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He is mentioned in several historical records, including the Pipe Rolls of 1194, which documented tax payments made to the Crown.

Another notable figure was Sir William Joshua, a 14th-century English knight who served under Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. He was instrumental in the capture of the French town of Calais in 1347 and was rewarded with land and titles for his bravery.

In the 16th century, the surname Joshua was also associated with the village of Joshua in Northamptonshire, England. The village likely derived its name from an earlier landowner or local figure with the surname.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, several prominent individuals bore the surname Joshua, including:

1. Josiah Joshua (1634-1700), an English Puritan minister and author.
2. John Joshua (1678-1761), an English mathematician and astronomer.
3. Samuel Joshua (1720-1772), an English engraver and artist.
4. Benjamin Joshua (1745-1819), an English merchant and politician.
5. William Joshua (1764-1835), an English naval officer and explorer.

These examples illustrate the widespread use and significance of the surname Joshua throughout English history, spanning various professions and social classes.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Joshua

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

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 Joshua 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 Joshua 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 Joshua was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!