Given name & surname

Josh

“God . is salvation”·“God is salvation”

Josh is a variant of Joshua. Interpretations include “God . is salvation” (Hebrew) and “God is salvation” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.

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Meaning & origin

What it means

Josh is a variant of Joshua. Interpretations include “God . is salvation” (Hebrew) and “God is salvation” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.

Explained through its name family

Where it comes from

Josh is a variant of Joshua. An origin associated with Joshua is Hebrew.

Explained through its name family

How it developed

In English use, Josh is used as a shortened form of JosHuA.

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. Josh is a variant of Joshua. The history of Joshua gives this family its wider story. In biblical tradition, Joshua is the name of the Israelite leader.

Combines direct and name-family evidence

Josh through the years

Babies since 1880: 17,288; 17,288 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year: 1979; 531 babies
2025: 96; #1,703 for boys
2021–25 vs 2016–20: −13%; Easing

Josh in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1880–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Where it’s given

Most at home inMassachusetts, Florida, New Jersey

FewerMore, relative to births Not published

2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: Massachusetts (5), Florida (17), New Jersey (7), New York (10), Texas (10).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 96 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,703 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 13.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 531 in 1979. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (17). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 125,623 as a first name in 2020; 302 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.

Josh’s family of names

In Cebuano usage, Josh is a diminutive of Joshua. Josh is a short form of Joshua. Josh has a related form in Joshua.

Walk Josh’s family in the name graph

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 2

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Spellings & scripts 1

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

ジョシュromanization

Across languages 4

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

People named Josh

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Appears in

Similar names

If you love Josh, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Hebrew · Timeless

Sibling ideas

Names that share Josh’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Josh

A sister for Josh

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