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.

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Popularity of the baby name Joshua


Posts that mention the name Joshua

Popular baby names in Jamaica, 2011

Flag of Jamaica
Flag of Jamaica

According to Jamaica’s Registrar General’s Department (RGD), the top baby names in Jamaica in 2011 were Gabrielle and Jayden.

Here are the top 5 girl names and top 5 boy names:

Girl names

  1. Gabrielle
  2. Amelia
  3. Tianna
  4. Brianna
  5. Jada

Boy names

  1. Jayden
  2. Daniel
  3. Joshua
  4. Justin
  5. Jaden & Ajani (tie)

And here are a few extra facts:

  • While Jayden remained the top boy name, usage decreased nearly 13% from 2010 to 2011.
  • Ajani rose to 5th place (2011) from 8th place (2010).
  • Jada rose to 5th place (2011) from 9th place (2010).
  • The top middle names were Anthony (same as in 2010) and Abigail (beating 2010’s Amanda).

Interestingly, according to a 2011 pamphlet called All About Baby (PDF), the top 10 names per gender “registered at the RGD” (during some unspecified previous year?) were…

  • Girl names: Brianna, Rihanna, Gabrielle, Ashley, Jada, Tiana, Abigail, Amelia, Kayla, Danielle
  • Boy names: Daniel, Jayden, Joshua, Jordan, Ricardo, Anthony, Nathan, Michael, Alex, Malik

These lists seem more similar to Jamaica’s 2008 rankings, which were topped by Brihanna and Daniel.

Source: “Jayden, Gabrielle most popular Jamaican baby names.” Jamaica Observer 11 Jun. 2012.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Jamaica (public domain)

Biggest changes in boy name popularity, 2011

Which boy names saw the biggest increases in popularity from 2010 to 2011? How about the biggest decreases?

According to the numbers, Mason was the winner. (Same as last year, in fact.)

  1. Mason, +4597 babies (rank change: 12th to 2nd)
  2. Liam, +2442 babies (rank change: 30th to 15th)
  3. Bentley, +1774 babies (rank change: 100th to 75th)
  4. Axel, +1059 babies (rank change: 187th to 132nd)
  5. Easton, +1037 babies (rank change: 145th to 102nd)
  6. Jace, +1020 babies (rank change: 146th to 106th)
  7. Ayden, +968 babies (rank change: 79th to 70th)
  8. Declan, +891 babies (rank change: 274th to 177th)
  9. Blake, +885 babies (rank change: 87th to 73rd)
  10. Jaxon, +878 babies (rank change: 99th to 86th)

The loser? Jacob:

  1. Jacob, -1858 babies (rank change: 1st to 1st)
  2. Joshua, -1754 babies (rank change: 11th to 14th)
  3. Tyler, -1649 babies (rank change: 34th to 38th)
  4. Ethan, -1389 babies (rank change: 2nd to 7th)
  5. Christopher, -1318 babies (rank change: 13th to 21st)
  6. Angel, -1253 babies (rank change: 42nd to 52nd)
  7. Anthony, -1252 babies (rank change: 10th to 11th)
  8. Evan, -1111 babies (rank change: 36th to 40th)
  9. Alexander, -1110 babies (rank change: 6th to 8th)
  10. Nicholas, -1089 babies (rank change: 37th to 42nd)

Last year’s loser, Joshua, was this year’s runner-up.

And here’s something confusing for you: boy names that decreased in usage but increased in rank include James, Gavin, Caleb, Luke, Charles, Brayden and Kaleb.

Popular baby names in the United States, 2011

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The top baby names in the U.S. in 2011 were Jacob and Sophia! (A new #1 name for girls!)

Here are the full top 20 lists…

Girl Names

  1. Sophia
  2. Isabella
  3. Emma
  4. Olivia
  5. Ava
  6. Emily
  7. Abigail
  8. Madison
  9. Mia
  10. Chloe
  11. Elizabeth
  12. Ella
  13. Addison
  14. Natalie
  15. Lily
  16. Grace
  17. Samantha
  18. Avery
  19. Sofia
  20. Aubrey

Boy Names

  1. Jacob
  2. Mason
  3. William
  4. Jayden
  5. Noah
  6. Michael
  7. Ethan
  8. Alexander
  9. Aiden
  10. Daniel
  11. Anthony
  12. Matthew
  13. Elijah
  14. Joshua
  15. Liam
  16. Andrew
  17. James
  18. David
  19. Benjamin
  20. Logan

My first impression of the boys’ list: “Look at how much Michael dropped!”

My first impression of the girls’ list: “Look at how high Avery is getting!”

More to come later today…

Update: Here’s more from the the SSA’s news release:

Mason, a relatively popular name since the 1990s, had never cracked the top 25 until 2010, when it hit number 12. Some may attribute this year’s rise to number two to reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian’s son. We note, moreover, that Mason has been a regular top-five name in Wisconsin for many years, undoubtedly a tribute to strong-legged Green Bay Packer kicker Mason Crosby.

Many pop-culture naming trends appear in a popular feature of Social Security’s baby names website–the “Change in Name Popularity” page. This year’s winners for biggest jump in popularity in the Top 500 are Brantley and Briella.

The fastest riser on the girls’ list may come from Briella Calafiore, the blonde reality star hairdresser from cable TV’s “Jerseylicious” and its spinoff, “Glam Fairy.”

For the boys, there could be some controversy over Brantley – depending on whether you are a fan of college football or country music. Arguments could be made that the popularity of the name comes from John Brantley, the quarterback for perennial powerhouse The University of Florida, or from Brantley Gilbert, the singer with the number one country hit “Country Must Be Country Wide.” If you like both football and country music, you’re a winner either way!

The second fastest riser on the boys’ list is Iker. There may be some international influence here—Iker Casillas Fernandez is the well-known goalkeeper for both Real Madrid and the Spanish National Team. In 2010, Iker led Spain to a World Cup championship, just in time to influence the 2011 baby names list.

On the girls’ side, Angelique is the second biggest climber, but she may have gotten there with some magic. Angelique is the character name of a witch from the cult favorite “Dark Shadows.” She worked her witchcraft just in time for the blockbuster Hollywood remake of the 1960s TV show.

Sources: SSA, Jacob and Sophia Take Top Honors on Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names List – SSA

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

Biggest changes in boy name popularity, 2010

For the last few years, the SSA has re-ordered the top 500 (or so) baby names according to rank change.

Below I’ve done the same sort of analysis, but I changed two things. First, I focused on the number of babies instead of on rankings. Second, I looked at the entire list, not just the top 500.

And that’s why these lists and the SSA’s lists look so different. :)

The boy names that increased and decreased the most in terms of usage are below. The girl names were in the last post.

Biggest Increases, 2009 to 2010

  1. Mason, +4074 babies (rank change: 34th to 12th)
  2. Bentley, +3221 (515th to 101st)
  3. Liam, +2317 (49th to 30th)
  4. Eli, +1601 (90th to 65th)
  5. Easton, +1330 (253rd to 145th)
  6. Grayson, +1077 (173rd to 122nd)
  7. Elijah, +984 (22nd to 18th)
  8. Levi, +935 (85th to 70th)
  9. Jacob, +839 (1st to 1st)
  10. Bryson, +771 (151st to 120th)
  11. Lucas, +727 (39th to 35th)
  12. Axel, +645 (264th to 187th)
  13. Colton, +516 (93rd to 73rd)
  14. Jeremiah, +485 (65th to 52nd)
  15. Asher, +474 (165th to 139th)
  16. Brayden, +474 (48th to 40th)
  17. Greyson, +451 (347th to 249th)
  18. Henry, +448 (71st to 67th)
  19. Miles, +434 (162nd to 137th)
  20. Jaxon, +423 (124th to 99th)

Biggest Decreases, 2009 to 2010

  1. Joshua, -2311 babies (rank change: 6th to 11th)
  2. Christopher, -2129 (10th to 13th)
  3. Matthew, -1941 (13th to 16th)
  4. Ethan, -1917 (2nd to 2nd)
  5. Daniel, -1777 (7th to 8th)
  6. Michael, -1689 (3rd to 3rd)
  7. Christian, -1620 (23rd to 29th)
  8. Alexander, -1541 (4th to 6th)
  9. Aidan, -1523 (72nd to 94th)
  10. Kevin, -1476 (44th to 58th)
  11. Brandon, -1331 (38th to 43rd)
  12. David, -1328 (14th to 15th)
  13. Nicholas, -1252 (32nd to 38th)
  14. Ryan, -1185 (19th to 23rd)
  15. Joseph, -1162 (15th to 20th)
  16. Gavin, -1159 (33rd to 37th)
  17. Jose, -1139 (43th to 51st)
  18. Tyler, -1130 (28th to 34th)
  19. Angel, -1102 (37th to 42nd)
  20. Juan, -1048 (67th to 75th)

As with the girl names, three of the above (Jacob, Ethan and Michael) were big winners/losers according to the numbers, but their rankings stayed the same.