Popularity of the name Joseph, 1880–2025
Joseph was at its most popular in 1914, when 18,829 boys were given the name: about 1 in 35 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #5. In 2025, 7,303 boys were named Joseph, ranking #29. In all, Social Security counts 2,669,490 boys named Joseph since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 10,723 girls named Joseph.
- Peak year
- 1914
- Rank in 1914
- #5
- Babies in 1914
- 18,829
- Rank in 2025
- #29
- Total since 1880
- 2,669,490
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #21 in 2015 to #29 in 2025: 11,531 boys got it in 2015, and 7,303 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1910s, when 179,300 boys were named Joseph, #5 for the decade. It ranked #7 in the 1880s and #28 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 2,632 in 1880 (#7), 3,714 in 1900 (#7), 25,587 in 1920 (#7), 18,208 in 1940 (#12), 29,749 in 1960 (#12), 30,185 in 1980 (#10), 22,844 in 2000 (#8) and 8,486 in 2020 (#26).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 32,749, in 1956. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 1956 than for 1914, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #5, first reached in 1912.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Joseph, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 2,632 | #7 |
| 1881 | 2,456 | #7 |
| 1882 | 2,670 | #7 |
| 1883 | 2,515 | #7 |
| 1884 | 2,707 | #7 |
| 1885 | 2,540 | #7 |
| 1886 | 2,594 | #7 |
| 1887 | 2,456 | #7 |
| 1888 | 2,993 | #7 |
| 1889 | 2,729 | #7 |
| 1890 | 2,670 | #7 |
| 1891 | 2,572 | #7 |
| 1892 | 3,064 | #7 |
| 1893 | 2,997 | #6 |
| 1894 | 2,977 | #6 |
| 1895 | 2,992 | #7 |
| 1896 | 3,051 | #6 |
| 1897 | 2,827 | #6 |
| 1898 | 3,171 | #6 |
| 1899 | 2,679 | #6 |
| 1900 | 3,714 | #7 |
| 1901 | 2,766 | #6 |
| 1902 | 3,098 | #7 |
| 1903 | 3,121 | #6 |
| 1904 | 3,291 | #7 |
| 1905 | 3,302 | #7 |
| 1906 | 3,527 | #7 |
| 1907 | 3,844 | #7 |
| 1908 | 4,162 | #6 |
| 1909 | 4,348 | #6 |
| 1910 | 5,228 | #6 |
| 1911 | 6,488 | #6 |
| 1912 | 12,062 | #5 |
| 1913 | 14,471 | #5 |
| 1914 | 18,829 | #5 |
| 1915 | 23,051 | #5 |
| 1916 | 23,883 | #5 |
| 1917 | 24,761 | #5 |
| 1918 | 26,261 | #7 |
| 1919 | 24,266 | #7 |
| 1920 | 25,587 | #7 |
| 1921 | 26,182 | #7 |
| 1922 | 25,699 | #7 |
| 1923 | 25,561 | #7 |
| 1924 | 25,421 | #7 |
| 1925 | 24,613 | #7 |
| 1926 | 23,756 | #8 |
| 1927 | 23,503 | #9 |
| 1928 | 22,322 | #9 |
| 1929 | 21,165 | #9 |
| 1930 | 20,981 | #9 |
| 1931 | 19,326 | #9 |
| 1932 | 18,566 | #9 |
| 1933 | 17,162 | #9 |
| 1934 | 17,111 | #10 |
| 1935 | 17,181 | #10 |
| 1936 | 17,453 | #11 |
| 1937 | 17,322 | #12 |
| 1938 | 17,742 | #12 |
| 1939 | 17,722 | #12 |
| 1940 | 18,208 | #12 |
| 1941 | 19,808 | #12 |
| 1942 | 22,429 | #11 |
| 1943 | 22,828 | #13 |
| 1944 | 21,176 | #13 |
| 1945 | 20,823 | #14 |
| 1946 | 24,284 | #14 |
| 1947 | 27,520 | #14 |
| 1948 | 26,801 | #13 |
| 1949 | 26,408 | #14 |
| 1950 | 27,022 | #13 |
| 1951 | 28,147 | #14 |
| 1952 | 28,510 | #12 |
| 1953 | 29,269 | #13 |
| 1954 | 31,221 | #13 |
| 1955 | 31,589 | #13 |
| 1956 | 32,749 | #12 |
| 1957 | 31,851 | #12 |
| 1958 | 30,115 | #12 |
| 1959 | 29,539 | #13 |
| 1960 | 29,749 | #12 |
| 1961 | 29,450 | #12 |
| 1962 | 30,090 | #13 |
| 1963 | 30,077 | #13 |
| 1964 | 30,576 | #11 |
| 1965 | 28,630 | #11 |
| 1966 | 26,981 | #15 |
| 1967 | 25,926 | #15 |
| 1968 | 25,396 | #16 |
| 1969 | 26,173 | #15 |
| 1970 | 26,714 | #16 |
| 1971 | 24,517 | #15 |
| 1972 | 22,454 | #12 |
| 1973 | 21,326 | #12 |
| 1974 | 21,834 | #12 |
| 1975 | 22,125 | #12 |
| 1976 | 24,055 | #12 |
| 1977 | 26,483 | #10 |
| 1978 | 26,663 | #10 |
| 1979 | 28,654 | #11 |
| 1980 | 30,185 | #10 |
| 1981 | 30,761 | #11 |
| 1982 | 31,035 | #11 |
| 1983 | 30,442 | #11 |
| 1984 | 30,513 | #10 |
| 1985 | 30,222 | #10 |
| 1986 | 28,834 | #12 |
| 1987 | 28,516 | #12 |
| 1988 | 29,019 | #12 |
| 1989 | 29,884 | #11 |
| 1990 | 30,137 | #10 |
| 1991 | 29,840 | #9 |
| 1992 | 27,904 | #11 |
| 1993 | 27,014 | #12 |
| 1994 | 25,734 | #11 |
| 1995 | 25,354 | #12 |
| 1996 | 24,758 | #12 |
| 1997 | 23,604 | #12 |
| 1998 | 23,186 | #11 |
| 1999 | 23,220 | #8 |
| 2000 | 22,844 | #8 |
| 2001 | 22,030 | #8 |
| 2002 | 21,920 | #7 |
| 2003 | 21,394 | #6 |
| 2004 | 20,147 | #9 |
| 2005 | 19,241 | #9 |
| 2006 | 18,471 | #11 |
| 2007 | 17,364 | #13 |
| 2008 | 16,599 | #13 |
| 2009 | 14,952 | #15 |
| 2010 | 13,851 | #20 |
| 2011 | 12,995 | #22 |
| 2012 | 12,594 | #19 |
| 2013 | 12,278 | #20 |
| 2014 | 12,155 | #20 |
| 2015 | 11,531 | #21 |
| 2016 | 10,969 | #20 |
| 2017 | 10,488 | #18 |
| 2018 | 9,682 | #23 |
| 2019 | 9,179 | #24 |
| 2020 | 8,486 | #26 |
| 2021 | 8,166 | #28 |
| 2022 | 7,839 | #30 |
| 2023 | 7,279 | #29 |
| 2024 | 7,261 | #32 |
| 2025 | 7,303 | #29 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.