Given name
Josu
“God shall add”
Josu is a variant of Joseph. Yosef means “God shall add,” traditionally understood as a hope that God would add another son to the family.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Josu is a variant of Joseph. Yosef means “God shall add,” traditionally understood as a hope that God would add another son to the family.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Josu is a variant of Joseph. Joseph is the English and French form of the Hebrew name Yosef.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Josu is a variant of Joseph. The shared background comes through Joseph: The English and French name continues the biblical Hebrew form Yosef. The idea of adding is part of the name’s original family context, rather than a later personality interpretation.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2017. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Josu is a variant of Joseph. The history of Joseph gives this family its wider story. In Genesis, Joseph is Jacob’s son who is taken to Egypt and later reconciled with his brothers. In the New Testament, Joseph is also the husband of Mary, giving the name a distinct place in Christian tradition.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Josu through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6
- 6 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2017
- 6 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2017. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Josu’s family of names
Josu has a related form in Joseph. In Basque usage, Josu has a related form in IOSU. In Basque usage, Josu has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Jesús.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Josu
- Josu UrrutiaSpanish football player/presidentborn 1968
- Josu SarriegiSpanish footballerborn 1979
- Josu Jon ImazSpanish chemist and politicianborn 1963
- Josu Agirreroad bicycle racerborn 1981
- Josu UrrutikoetxeaBasque separatistborn 1950
- Josu ErkorekaSpanish politicianborn 1960
- Josu IriondoCatholic bishopborn 1938
- Iosu Goñi LeozSpanish handball playerborn 1990
- Josu JuaristiSpanish politician and journalistborn 1964
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Josu, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jerahmeel
“may God have compassion” · “he will obtain mercy of God”
>99% boys
Ioseph
“God will add” · “God shall add”
>99% boys
Josif
“God shall add”
>99% boys
Jahleel
“wait for God” · “hope of God”
>99% boys
Iosif
“God shall add”
>99% boys
Josephe
“God will add” · “God shall add”
>99% boys
Josep
“God shall add”
>99% boys
Hovsep
“God will add” · “God shall add”
>99% boys