Given name & surname
Hosea
“one who reaches salvation”
Hosea is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “one who reaches salvation.”
Original Hebrewהושע
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “one who reaches salvation.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
From Latin Hōsēās, from Ancient Greek Ὡσηέ, from Biblical Hebrew הוֹשֵׁעַ (hōšḗaʿ).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Hosea appears in Numbers 13:16, Romans 9:25-26, Hosea 1:10.
- Numbers 13:16
- Romans 9:25-26
- Hosea 1:10
From biblical name research
Hosea through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5,501
- 5,481 boys · 20 girls
- Most popular year
- 1925
- 74 babies
- 2025
- 67
- #2,154 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +7%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 67 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,154 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 6.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 74 in 1925. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,543 as a first name in 2020; 1,779 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Hosea’s family of names
Hosea has a related form in Hosie. Hosea has a related form in Hosey. Hosea has a related form in Hosaya.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 16
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Hosea
- Hosea GearNew Zealand rugby union playerborn 1984
- Hosea BallouAmerican Universalist minister (1771–1852)
- Hosea W. ParkerAmerican politician and lawyer (1833–1922)
- Hosea JacobiCroatian rabbi (1841–1925)1842–1925
- Hosea EhinlanwoNigerian politicianborn 1938
- Hosea TownsendAmerican politician (1840-1909)
- Hosea Ballou MorseHistorian of China (1855-1934)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Hosea, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Homon
Homon is a given name, probably from Biblical Hebrew, ultimately from Old Persian. It is used in Judeo-Tat.
—
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