How Many People Are Named Joshua?
An estimated 1,203,779 people in the United States have the first name Joshua, ranking it #17 among all first names. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 33 years old, and Joshua peaked in popularity in 1989 with 44,307 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Andrew (1,151,621).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Joshua as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, state-by-state birth registrations, and, when available, a 2020 Census snapshot showing who had the name at that point in time. You can also check how many people share the full name Joshua paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Joshua is overwhelmingly male, 4,953 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
1,203,779
About 1 in 285 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
33
years old
Peak Year
1989
44,307 births
Total Registered
1,249,012
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Joshua
Joshua is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 1,249,012 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Joshua as a male name
Ranked #57 in 2024
5,244 male births in 2024
Peak: 1989 (44,099 births)
Joshua as a female name
Ranked #11,545 in 2024
8 female births in 2024
Peak: 1986 (307 births)
Joshua in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 939,718 people with the first name Joshua, which placed it at #30 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name in 2020. The estimated living count elsewhere on this page is different: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two figures are not expected to match exactly.
Read this section as a snapshot of people who already had the name in 2020. The SSA charts elsewhere on this page are still the better way to see how the name rose, fell, or shifted across generations.
Gender in the 2020 Census
In the 2020 Census, Joshua was recorded as predominantly male. Out of 939,718 people with this name in that snapshot, 99.8% were male and 0.2% were female. That is very close to the long-run birth pattern in SSA records, where the name is male 99.6% of the time.
Census Count
939,718
people with this name
Census Rank
#30
among Census first names
Frequency Rate
311.13
per 100,000 people
Recorded Race and Hispanic Origin in the 2020 Census
In the 2020 Census, the first name Joshua was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (68.35%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (14.30%) and Black (9.11%).
These percentages describe the people who had the first name Joshua in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper meaning or origin of the name itself.
2020 Census demographic breakdown
Each row shows a recorded Census category for people with the first name Joshua.
| Group | Share | Count |
|---|---|---|
| White | 68.35% | 642,325 |
| Hispanic | 14.30% | 134,350 |
| Black | 9.11% | 85,627 |
| Two or More Races | 4.62% | 43,383 |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 2.91% | 27,387 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.71% | 6,646 |
Joshua: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Joshua span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 399,091 babies were registered. Joshua has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Joshua by Decade
How has Joshua 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 | 465 | 465 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 287 | 287 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 243 | 243 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 926 | 926 | 0 | |
| 1920s | 1,143 | 1,143 | 0 | |
| 1930s | 948 | 948 | 0 | |
| 1940s | 1,156 | 1,156 | 0 | |
| 1950s | 2,222 | 2,222 | 0 | |
| 1960s | 5,339 | 5,326 | 13 | |
| 1970s | 141,126 | 140,325 | 801 | |
| 1980s | 399,091 | 396,530 | 2,561 | |
| 1990s | 330,115 | 329,184 | 931 | |
| 2000s | 232,512 | 232,037 | 475 | |
| 2010s | 106,372 | 106,229 | 143 | |
| 2020s | 27,067 | 27,038 | 29 | |
Joshua by State
Birth registrations for Joshua span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska. On average, about 24,386 Joshuas were registered per state.
Joshua + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Joshua as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Joshua
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
Joshua: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joshua?
We estimate approximately 1,203,779 people named Joshua 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 285 Americans share this first name.
Is Joshua a common name?
Joshua is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 1,249,012 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Joshua most popular?
Joshua reached peak popularity in 1989, when 44,307 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Joshua is approximately 33 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
How common was Joshua in the 2020 Census?
The 2020 Census recorded 939,718 people with the first name Joshua. That placed it at #30 in the published Census first-name tables, or 311.13 people per 100,000.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census number is a count of people with the name in 2020. The living estimate is a current model based on SSA birth records and survival rates, so it aims to estimate how many people with the name are alive now.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The popularity chart tracks birth registrations, not people currently alive. It shows how often Joshua was given to babies from 1880 through 2024, which is why it is the best tool on the page for seeing long-run naming trends.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Joshua?
In the 2020 Census snapshot, Joshua was recorded as predominantly male. The published split was 99.8% male and 0.2% female.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Joshua?
In the 2020 Census, the first name Joshua was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (68.35%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (14.30%) and Black (9.11%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper meaning or origin of the name itself.
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census published separate first-name tables for sex and for race and Hispanic origin. Those totals can differ slightly for the same name, so the page uses them as two related snapshots rather than treating them as perfectly interchangeable counts.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name tables only include names that met the Bureau's publication rules. That means some names on this site will have SSA history but no published Census demographic snapshot.
Is Joshua a male name?
Joshua is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
Why can Joshua have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because a name can build up a large population over many decades. Joshua peaked in 1989, and the average living bearer is about 33 years old, so a name can still have millions of living bearers even after it stops feeling current for newborns.
How many Joshua Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Joshua Smith, Joshua Johnson, Joshua 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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