boys' name ★ peaked 2017

Josiah

Meaning Yahweh has healed Gender Boy Rank 2025 #54 Trend ↓ Falling 13%

Josiah is a masculine given name derived from the Hebrew Yoshi-yahu (Hebrew: יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ, Modern: Yošiyyáhu, Tiberian: Yôšiyyāhû, "Yahweh has healed".

Rank 2025
#54
among boys · ↓1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
5,522
named Josiah
How common
1 in 310
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2017
7,092 babies
All-time total
149,420
#231 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Josiah popularity over time

149,420 babies have been named Josiah since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.252.53.75518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 193 193 19 – #338
1890s – 108 108 11 -44% #441
1900s – 77 77 8 -29% #637
1910s – 308 308 31 +300% #719
1920s – 278 278 28 -10% #1,202
1930s – 206 206 21 -26% #1,358
1940s – 164 164 16 -20% #1,500
1950s – 195 195 20 +19% #1,569
1960s – 173 173 17 -11% #1,507
1970s – 945 945 95 +446% #582
1980s 27 4,406 4,433 443 +369% #371
1990s 67 10,916 10,983 1,098 +148% #194
2000s 153 33,258 33,411 3,341 +204% #86
2010s 150 63,132 63,282 6,328 +89% #45
2020s (to 2025) 65 34,599 34,664 5,777 -9% #49

Where Josiah is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 5,386 3.15 #57
2027 5,284 3.09 #57
2028 5,199 3.04 #60
2029 5,128 3.00 #61
2030 5,068 2.97 #62

Where Josiah is most popular

Boys named Josiah per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 3.29 per 1,000. Strongest in Delaware, New Mexico, and Rhode Island.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Josiah born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Delaware 110 7.25 +120%
New Mexico 235 7.13 +117%
Rhode Island 106 6.50 +97%
Mississippi 344 6.05 +84%
District of Columbia 79 5.35 +63%
South Carolina 533 5.16 +57%
Louisiana 513 5.02 +52%
Georgia 1,250 4.93 +50%
Florida 2,328 4.92 +49%
Alaska 57 4.79 +45%
Connecticut 321 4.74 +44%
Nevada 267 4.68 +42%
Arkansas 295 4.66 +42%
Texas 4,090 4.64 +41%
Alabama 491 4.49 +36%
North Carolina 1,118 4.38 +33%
Hawaii 67 4.31 +31%
California 3,787 4.14 +26%
Oklahoma 365 4.13 +25%
Arizona 671 4.10 +25%
Maryland 481 4.03 +23%
Virginia 743 3.92 +19%
Tennessee 648 3.59 +9%
Pennsylvania 913 3.44 ≈ national
Michigan 702 3.43 ≈ national
Indiana 533 3.32 ≈ national
Illinois 839 3.28 ≈ national
Kansas 225 3.28 ≈ national
South Dakota 61 3.28 ≈ national
North Dakota 54 3.16 ≈ national
Ohio 835 3.15 ≈ national
New Jersey 624 3.10 -6%
Washington 507 3.10 -6%
Colorado 384 2.98 -10%
New York 1,276 2.95 -10%
Kentucky 293 2.92 -11%
Missouri 404 2.91 -11%
West Virginia 94 2.88 -13%
Oregon 217 2.86 -13%
Idaho 113 2.76 -16%
Wisconsin 322 2.72 -17%
Massachusetts 368 2.68 -19%
Nebraska 114 2.62 -20%
Iowa 176 2.55 -22%
Montana 41 2.32 -29%
Minnesota 256 2.09 -37%
Maine 21 1.08 -67%
Utah 102 1.07 -68%
New Hampshire 18 0.811 -75%
Vermont 5 0.796 -76%
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Josiah

Josiah is a top-100 name for boys in the United States, ranked #54 in 2025 with 5,509 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 149,420 American babies have been named Josiah. Its peak came in 2017, when 7,092 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Josiah stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Josiah?

The median living Josiah is about 11 years old; half are between 6 and 18. An estimated 146 thousand people named Josiah are alive in the United States today.

median 11 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Josiah year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 13 #8,083 5,509 #54
2024 9 #10,650 5,486 #53
2023 5 #16,273 5,445 #53
2022 10 #10,025 5,838 #51
2021 11 #9,230 6,157 #49
2020 17 #6,763 6,164 #49
2019 21 #5,881 6,847 #45
2018 17 #6,933 6,684 #52
2017 13 #8,522 7,079 #51
2016 14 #8,183 7,025 #55
2015 15 #7,785 6,677 #57
2014 10 #10,513 6,482 #64
2013 15 #7,954 6,316 #69
2012 18 #6,993 5,538 #79
2011 17 #7,255 5,274 #80
2010 10 #10,788 5,210 #77
2009 20 #6,676 5,020 #86
2008 18 #7,211 4,785 #95
2007 17 #7,559 4,225 #105
2006 21 #6,236 3,649 #117
2005 11 #9,767 3,260 #125
2004 17 #6,926 2,797 #142
2003 10 #10,002 2,684 #152
2002 15 #7,226 2,570 #154
2001 12 #8,451 2,239 #169
2000 12 #8,263 2,029 #180
1995 9 #9,092 1,018 #273
1990 – – 677 #355
1985 6 #9,849 497 #371
1980 – – 256 #537
1975 – – 86 #893
1970 – – 29 #1,595
1965 – – 13 #2,315
1960 – – 11 #2,609
1955 – – 17 #1,933
1950 – – 20 #1,680
1945 – – 14 #1,892
1940 – – 21 #1,500
1935 – – 19 #1,626
1930 – – 24 #1,516
1925 – – 30 #1,347
1920 – – 29 #1,365
1915 – – 37 #1,060
1910 – – 9 #1,165
1905 – – 5 #1,330
1900 – – 7 #1,110
1895 – – 7 #936
1890 – – 11 #620
1885 – – 17 #453
1880 – – 26 #338

Famous people named Josiah

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Josiah Josiah Biblical King of Judah -648–-609 · Antiquity
  2. 2 Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood English entrepreneur and abolitionist; founder, Wedgwood pottery (1730–1795) 18th century
  3. 3 Josiah Royce Josiah Royce American philosopher (1855–1916) 19th century
  4. 4 Josiah Willard Gibbs Josiah Willard Gibbs American scientist (1839–1903) 19th century
  5. 5 Josiah Bartlett Josiah Bartlett American Founding Father, physician, and judge 1729–1795 · 18th century
  6. 6 Josiah Warren Josiah Warren American philosopher, inventor, musician, and author (1798–1874) 18th century
  7. 7 Josiah McCracken American athlete (1874–1962) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Josiah, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Josiah?

The median living Josiah is about 11 years old. Half of all living Josiahs are between 6 and 18 years old.

How many people named Josiah are alive today?

An estimated 146 thousand people named Josiah are alive in the United States, based on 149,420 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Josiah mean?

Josiah is a masculine given name derived from the Hebrew Yoshi-yahu (Hebrew: יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ, Modern: Yošiyyáhu, Tiberian: Yôšiyyāhû, "Yahweh has healed".

How popular is the name Josiah in 2025?

Josiah ranked #54 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 5,509 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Josiah?

149,420 babies have been named Josiah in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Josiah most popular?

Josiah peaked in 2017, when 7,092 newborns received the name.

Is Josiah a boy or girl name?

Josiah is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Josiah rising or falling?

Josiah has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Josiah become more popular?

Josiah is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 5,068 boys named Josiah in 2030, which would rank around #62. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Josiah?

Well-known people named Josiah include Josiah (politician), Josiah Wedgwood (designer), Josiah Royce (philosopher).

Names like Josiah

Names that sound and feel close to Josiah: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Josiah with similar names → More names starting with J →