How Many People Are Named Joseph?
An estimated 1,758,265 people in the United States have the first name Joseph, making it one of the 10 most popular first names in the country (ranked #8, behind William). It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 47 years old, and Joseph peaked in popularity in 1956 with 32,831 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Daniel (1,672,238).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Joseph as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Joseph paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Joseph is overwhelmingly male, 10,706 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
1,758,265
About 1 in 195 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
47
years old
Peak Year
1956
32,831 births
Total Registered
2,672,746
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Joseph
Joseph is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 2,672,746 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Joseph as a male name
Ranked #32 in 2024
7,223 male births in 2024
Peak: 1956 (32,748 births)
Joseph as a female name
Ranked #8,691 in 2023
12 female births in 2023
Peak: 1985 (227 births)
Joseph: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Joseph span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 301,410 babies were registered. Joseph has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Joseph by Decade
How has Joseph tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 26,404 | 26,292 | 112 | |
| 1890s | 29,187 | 29,000 | 187 | |
| 1900s | 35,346 | 35,173 | 173 | |
| 1910s | 179,927 | 179,300 | 627 | |
| 1920s | 245,187 | 243,809 | 1,378 | |
| 1930s | 181,451 | 180,565 | 886 | |
| 1940s | 230,949 | 230,281 | 668 | |
| 1950s | 300,759 | 300,006 | 753 | |
| 1960s | 284,269 | 283,046 | 1,223 | |
| 1970s | 246,349 | 244,838 | 1,511 | |
| 1980s | 301,410 | 299,416 | 1,994 | |
| 1990s | 261,375 | 260,738 | 637 | |
| 2000s | 195,300 | 194,937 | 363 | |
| 2010s | 115,842 | 115,686 | 156 | |
| 2020s | 38,991 | 38,953 | 38 | |
Joseph by State
Birth registrations for Joseph span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, California. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont. On average, about 50,533 Josephs were registered per state.
Joseph + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Joseph as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Joseph
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
Joseph: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joseph?
We estimate approximately 1,758,265 people named Joseph are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 195 Americans share this first name.
Is Joseph a common name?
Joseph is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 2,672,746 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Joseph most popular?
Joseph reached peak popularity in 1956, when 32,831 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Joseph is approximately 47 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Joseph a male name?
Joseph is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Joseph Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Joseph Smith, Joseph Johnson, Joseph Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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