How popular is the baby name Joshua in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Joshua.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Joshua


Posts that mention the name Joshua

Popular baby names in New South Wales (Australia), 2012

The most popular baby names in New South Wales, Australia, were announced recently.

According to the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, the winners were William for boys and Ruby for girls.

Here are NSW’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2012:

Baby Girl NamesBaby Boy Names
1. Ruby (564 baby girls)
2. Charlotte (549)
2. Emily (546)
3. Olivia (540)
4. Chloe (530)
6. Amelia (522)
7. Mia (519)
8. Sophie (494)
9. Isabella (489)
10. Ava (464)		1. William (639 baby boys)
2. Lucas (571)
3. Oliver (569)
4. Noah (568)
5. Jack (565)
6. Ethan (549)
7. Thomas (515)
8. Lachlan (515)
9. Joshua (514)
10. James (489)

Why is Ruby so popular in Australia now? “BabyCenter Australia editor Danielle Townsend said…the rise of Ruby could be related to the baby of the same name from TV series Packed to the Rafters.”

Sources: William reigns in the name game while rare gem Ruby shines again, Popular Baby Names, 2010s (PDF)

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2012

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

The most popular baby names in Northern Ireland were announced a little while ago.

According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, the #1 names were Jack for boys and Sophie for girls.

Here are Northern Ireland’s provisional top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2012:

Baby Girl NamesBaby Boy Names
1. Sophie
2. Emily
3. Grace
4. Amelia
5. Jessica
6. Lucy
7. Sophia
8. Katie
9. Eva
10. Aoife
11. Chloe
12. Lily
13. Ella
14. Mia
15. Ellie
16. Anna [tie]
16. Emma [tie]
16. Olivia [tie]
19. Erin
20. Sarah		1. Jack
2. James
3. Daniel
4. Harry
5. Charlie
6. Ethan
7. Matthew
8. Ryan
9. Riley
10. Noah
11. Adam
12. Joshua
13. Jacob
14. Thomas
15. Conor
16. Jake [tie]
16. Oliver [tie]
18. Dylan
19. Alfie
20. Mason

The highest climbers within the top 20 lists were Aoife (15th to 10th) and Riley (18th to 9th).

Other high climbers were Bobby (124th to 59th), Blake (111th to 71st) and Olly (131st to 93rd) for boy names, and Miley (135th to 79th) and Layla (135th to 83rd) for girl names.

[Very curious about Bobby! Can anybody explain that one?]

Names that decreased in popularity include Calum (down 93 spots), Padraig (-49) and Conan (-28) on the boys’ list, and Ciara (-53), Victoria (-49) and Julia (-48) on the girls’ list.

Finally, here are some of the more unusual names registered in 2012:

Girl NamesBoy Names
Aibhailia, Anna-bell, Blathnait, Cait-erin, Caollaidhe, Clodagh-rose, Clover-leoni, Connemara, Haianabragadiska, Iretenevesho, Napsugar, Poppyanna, Scarlett-imogen, Shammahwisdom, TuleighzaBoen-rua, Caelum, Conghaile, Connlaodh, Everley-eric, Gavin-og, Iarfhlaith, Iggi, Kekeli, Kyzler, McCoist, Naoise, Rolex, Sean-og, Setanta, Shea-pearse, Somhairle, Steven-og, Uate, Ugnius

Those “og” endings on some of the boy names are the Irish word Óg, which means “young” or “junior.” It can be used after girl names, too.

Here are Northern Ireland’s top baby names of 2007, if you’d like to compare.

Source: NISRA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Popular baby names in Ontario (Canada), 2012

Flag of Ontario
Flag of Ontario

The most popular baby names in Ontario, Canada, were announced yesterday.

According to the Ontario Registrar General, the winners were Liam for boys and Olivia for girls.

Here are Ontario’s top 25 girl names and top 25 boy names of 2012:

Baby Girl NamesBaby Boy Names
1. Olivia
2. Emma
3. Sophia
4. Ava
5. Isabella
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Charlotte
9. Chloe
10. Lily
11. Ella
12. Sophie
13. Madison
14. Grace
15. Victoria
16. Sarah
17. Maya
18. Mia
19. Leah
20. Sofia
21. Hannah
22. Amelia
23. Brooklyn
24. Alexis
25. Julia		1. Liam
2. Ethan
3. Jacob
4. Lucas
5. Noah
6. Nathan
7. Benjamin
8. William
9. Alexander
10. Logan
11. Mason
12. Owen
13. Joshua
14. Matthew
15. Daniel
16. Ryan
17. James
18. Jack
19. Michael
20. Evan
21. Gabriel
22. Jackson
23. Carter
24. Samuel
25. Nicholas

Ontarians are apparently not “keeping up with the Kardashians,” as Mason hasn’t shot up to #2 in Ontario like it did in the U.S. last year.

Source: Liam and Olivia Most Popular Baby Names in Ontario

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ontario (public domain)

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2011

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

According to the Office for National Statistics, the new top baby names in England and Wales are Harry and Amelia.

They beat out 2010’s top names, Oliver and Olivia.

Here are the current top 25 names for both boys and girls:

Girl Names

  1. Amelia
  2. Olivia
  3. Lily
  4. Jessica
  5. Emily
  6. Sophie
  7. Ruby
  8. Grace
  9. Ava
  10. Isabella
  11. Evie
  12. Chloe
  13. Mia
  14. Poppy
  15. Isla
  16. Ella
  17. Isabelle
  18. Sophia
  19. Freya
  20. Daisy
  21. Charlotte
  22. Maisie
  23. Lucy
  24. Phoebe
  25. Scarlett

Boy Names

  1. Harry
  2. Oliver
  3. Jack
  4. Alfie
  5. Charlie
  6. Thomas
  7. Jacob
  8. James
  9. Joshua
  10. William
  11. Ethan
  12. George
  13. Riley
  14. Daniel
  15. Samuel
  16. Noah
  17. Oscar
  18. Joseph
  19. Mohammed
  20. Max
  21. Dylan
  22. Muhammad
  23. Alexander
  24. Archie
  25. Benjamin

In Wales specifically, the top names were Oliver and Lily. In London, Daniel and Isabella.

A few other things I noticed…

Usage of Pippa increased in 2011, thanks to the royal wedding:

  • 2011: 250 baby girls named Pippa (rank: 204th)
  • 2010: 124 baby girls named Pippa (rank: 365th)
  • 2009: 125 baby girls named Pippa (rank: 351st)

Usage of another quirky P-name, Pixie, is also on the up thanks to English pop star Pixie Lott:

  • 2011: 99 baby girls named Pixie (rank: 432nd)
    • +6 named Pixie-Lou
    • +5 named Pixie-Leigh
  • 2010: 83 baby girls named Pixie (rank: 485th)
    • +3 named Pixie-Lou
    • +3 named Pixie-Rose
  • 2009: 33 baby girls named Pixie (rank: 982nd)

I also spotted 5 baby girls named Renesmee, 4 named Coraline and 4 named Io.

The most insightful article I’ve seen about this batch of names so far is Ed West’s “Britain’s divided nation is revealed in our baby names.” Some snippets:

  • “…the annually-published list does show that, for the first time in nine centuries, English people are easily identifiable by class solely by their name, since most names in the 2011 list have strong class biases either way.”
  • “Social mobility will be achieved only when we all give our children the same names.”

Have you spotted anything interesting or surprising on the England and Wales 2011 list?

Source: Baby names in England and Wales: 2011

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)