How popular is the baby name Joseph 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 Joseph.

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Popularity of the baby name Joseph


Posts that mention the name Joseph

Popular baby names in New York City, 2023

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

Last year, New York City welcomed 98,389 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma (for the seventh year in a row) and Liam (for the eighth year in a row), according to the New York City Health Department.

Here are NYC’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Emma, 382 baby girls
  2. Mia
  3. Sophia
  4. Olivia
  5. Isabella
  6. Amelia
  7. Leah (ranked 53rd for girls nationally in 2023)
  8. Chloe (26th)
  9. Luna
  10. Sofia (12th)

Boy names

  1. Liam, 743 baby boys
  2. Noah
  3. David (ranked 27th for boys nationally in 2023)
  4. Lucas
  5. Jacob (36th)
  6. Ethan (25th)
  7. Joseph (29th)
  8. Dylan (34th)
  9. Michael [tie] (16th)
  10. Muhammad [tie] (272nd)

In the girls’ top 10, Chloe and Sofia replaced Ava and Esther.

In the boys’ top 10, Dylan, Michael, and Muhammad replaced Aiden, Daniel, and Alexander.

Both Dylan and Muhammad — which was the #1 boy name in England and Wales last year — are new to NYC’s top 10. Michael, on the other hand, was a “favorite among New Yorkers from 1980 to 2006.”

The Health Department’s news release also mentioned dozens of other Big Apple baby names, including…

Girl namesBoy names
Esther (ranked 12th), Miriam (15th), Aurora (41st), Violet (45th), Rose (52nd), Eleanor (56th), Gemma (78th), Athena (79th), Savannah (85th), Iris (87th), Daisy (93rd), Sage (100th)Alexander (ranked 17th), Zion (62nd), Leonardo (65th), Milan (70th), Adonis (76th), Amari (78th)

Finally, here’s a link to New York City’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to check them out.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)

Minnesota family with 22 children

kinderfest

In the mid-20th century, Alvin Joseph Miller and Lucille Rose Miller (née Kahnke) of Waseca, Minnesota, had 22 children — 15 girls and 7 boys.

Here are the names of all 22 siblings:

  1. Ramona Mary (born in 1940), who became a Franciscan nun
  2. Alvin Joseph, Jr. (b. 1942)
  3. Rose Ann (b. 1943)
  4. Kathleen Edith (b. 1945)
  5. Robert Vincent (b. 1946)
  6. Patricia Jean (b. 1947)
  7. Mary Lucille (b. 1948), nicknamed “Marylu”
  8. Diane Margaret (b. 1949)
  9. John Charles (b. 1950)
  10. Janet Irene (b. 1951)
  11. Linda Louise (b. 1953)
  12. Virginia Therese (b. 1954)
  13. Helen Rita (b. 1955), who wrote a book about growing up in a large family
  14. Arthur Lawrence (b. 1956)
  15. Dolores Maria (b. 1957)
  16. Martin Peter (b. 1959)
  17. Pauline Carmel (b. 1960)
  18. Alice Callista (b. 1961)
  19. Angela Mary (b. 1962)
  20. Marcia Marie (b. 1963)
  21. Gregory Eugene (b. 1964)
  22. Damien Francis (b. 1966)

Eight of the children had been born by April of 1950, when the Miller family was interviewed for the U.S. Census:

The Miller family on the 1950 U.S. Census
The Miller family (1950 U.S. Census)

Alvin and Lucille raised their children on a 300-acre farm that included a seven-bedroom farmhouse. Here’s how Diane (#8) described her childhood:

I remember a lot of rides in the wheelbarrow from the granary to the barn. I remember a lot of grinding feed, a lot of egg washing and packing, a lot of sitting by the wood stove in the basement, singing songs as we candled eggs.

Which of the names above do you like most?

P.S. Thank you to Destiny for letting me know about the Miller family a few months ago! (Destiny also told me about the Jones family of West Virginia.)

Sources:

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

Popular baby names in Paris, 2023

Flag of France
Flag of France

We’ve already looked at the top names in France, so now let’s check out the top names in France’s capital city, Paris.

Last year, Paris’ most popular baby names were Louise and Gabriel.

Here are the city’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Louise, 190 baby girls
  2. Alma, 189
  3. Alice, 138
  4. Anna, 135
  5. Olivia, 134
  6. Jeanne, 129
  7. Gabrielle, 118
  8. Emma, 114
  9. Adèle, 112
  10. Iris, 111 (tie)
  11. Rose, 111 (tie)
  12. Léa, 108
  13. Chloé, 104
  14. Victoire, 99
  15. Jade, 97
  16. Lina, 94
  17. Victoria, 93
  18. Charlie, 91
  19. Lou, 90
  20. Joséphine, 89 (tie)
  21. Sofia, 89 (tie)
  22. Ava, 87 (4-way tie)
  23. Diane, 87 (4-way tie)
  24. Mia, 87 (4-way tie)
  25. Sarah, 87 (4-way tie)
  26. Zoé, 86
  27. Ella, 85
  28. Nour, 82
  29. Alix, 81
  30. Julia, 80
  31. Suzanne, 79
  32. Juliette, 78
  33. Maya, 76 (tie)
  34. Nina, 76 (tie)
  35. Alba, 74 (3-way tie)
  36. Charlotte, 74 (3-way tie)
  37. Eva, 74 (3-way tie)
  38. Agathe, 73 (tie)
  39. Romy, 73 (tie)
  40. Mariam, 72
  41. Fatoumata, 69
  42. Inaya, 68
  43. Aminata, 64
  44. Elena, 62
  45. Ambre, 61 (tie)
  46. Inès, 61 (tie)
  47. Apolline, 60
  48. Romane, 59
  49. Alya, 57 (3-way tie)
  50. Céleste, 57 (3-way tie)
  51. Giulia, 57 (3-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Gabriel, 321 baby boys
  2. Adam, 240
  3. Raphaël, 235
  4. Louis, 191
  5. Noah, 188
  6. Isaac, 181
  7. Mohamed, 175
  8. Arthur, 172
  9. Gaspard, 152
  10. Joseph, 147
  11. Léon, 137
  12. Lucas, 131
  13. Victor, 127
  14. Léo, 124
  15. Paul, 123
  16. Alexandre, 121 (tie)
  17. Ibrahim, 121 (tie)
  18. Aaron, 111
  19. Sacha, 108
  20. Andrea, 105 (tie)
  21. Ismaël, 105 (tie)
  22. Liam, 103
  23. Augustin, 92 (tie)
  24. Oscar, 92 (tie)
  25. Côme, 91
  26. Maël, 87
  27. Auguste, 86 (tie)
  28. Noé, 86 (tie)
  29. Jules, 84
  30. Antoine, 83
  31. Abel, 81 (tie)
  32. Timothée, 81 (tie)
  33. Hugo, 80
  34. Marceau, 78 (3-way tie)
  35. Marius, 78 (3-way tie)
  36. Théo, 78 (3-way tie)
  37. Charles, 77
  38. Simon, 76
  39. Eliott, 74
  40. Basile, 72
  41. Eden, 71
  42. Octave, 70 (tie)
  43. Zayn, 70 (tie)
  44. Léonard, 69 (tie)
  45. Nathan, 69 (tie)
  46. Georges, 67
  47. Mathis, 66
  48. Ethan, 65 (tie)
  49. Maxime, 65 (tie)
  50. Camille, 64

How interesting that Ambre, the second-most-popular girl name in France, just barely made the top 50 in Paris.

The girls’ top 100 included Raphaëlle (63rd), Olympe (76th), Brune (83rd), and Marie (99th).

The boys’ top 100 included Gustave (67th), Naël (78th), Malo (83rd), and Aurèle (96th).

Here’s a selection of names from lower down in the rankings, which includes all names given to at least five Parisian babies (of either one gender or the other) per year.

Girl namesBoy names
Castille (25 baby girls), Gisèle (19), Sibylle (17), Ninon (14), Ysé (12), Olympia (11), Alizée (6), Amicie (5), Domitille (5), Lital (5)Hippolyte (26 baby boys), Soan (26), Edouard (22), Zacharie (17), Mayeul (6), Armel (5), Doron (5), Manoé (5), Pacôme (5), Wandrille (5)

Wandrille is the French form of the Germanic name Wandregisel (which belonged to a 7th-century Catholic saint). The second element of Wandregisel is the same element upon which the name Gisèle is based.

Finally, here’s a link to Paris’ 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. Do you think the Paris Olympics will inspire more French parents to choose the girl names Olympe and Olympia in 2024?

Sources: Prénoms déclarés – Paris Data, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2022

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

The 2022 rankings for England and Wales are finally here!

Two years ago, England and Wales welcomed over 605,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.

Here are England and Wales’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 3,289 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 2,884
  3. Isla, 2,613
  4. Ava, 2,293
  5. Lily, 2,281
  6. Ivy, 2,195
  7. Freya, 2,162
  8. Florence, 1,971
  9. Isabella, 1,927
  10. Mia, 1,868
  11. Willow, 1,867
  12. Sienna, 1,859
  13. Poppy, 1,848
  14. Sophia, 1,813
  15. Elsie, 1,763
  16. Rosie, 1,686
  17. Grace, 1,675
  18. Millie, 1,670
  19. Emily, 1,609
  20. Sofia, 1,576
  21. Daisy, 1,563
  22. Evelyn, 1,560
  23. Evie, 1,534
  24. Phoebe, 1,531
  25. Ella, 1,522
  26. Charlotte, 1,496
  27. Harper, 1,449
  28. Maya, 1,406
  29. Matilda, 1,363
  30. Ruby, 1,271
  31. Aria, 1,229
  32. Penelope, 1,206
  33. Hallie, 1,202
  34. Luna, 1,174
  35. Bonnie, 1,148
  36. Ada, 1,138
  37. Emilia, 1,128
  38. Alice, 1,119
  39. Sophie, 1,115
  40. Esme, 1,101
  41. Isabelle, 1,089
  42. Maisie, 1,072
  43. Violet, 1,057
  44. Delilah, 1,054
  45. Mila, 1,042
  46. Eva, 1,029
  47. Arabella, 1,019
  48. Maeve, 990
  49. Aurora, 972
  50. Mabel, 964

Boy names

  1. Noah, 4,586 baby boys
  2. Muhammad, 4,177
  3. George, 3,699
  4. Oliver, 3,691
  5. Leo, 3,610
  6. Arthur, 3,603
  7. Oscar, 2,883
  8. Theodore, 2,835
  9. Theo, 2,808
  10. Freddie, 2,760
  11. Archie, 2,684
  12. Luca, 2,625
  13. Henry, 2,624
  14. Jack, 2,431
  15. Harry, 2,403
  16. Charlie, 2,391
  17. Alfie, 2,304
  18. Arlo, 2,176
  19. Thomas, 2,101
  20. Teddy, 2,030
  21. Finley, 2,025
  22. Jacob, 1,892
  23. Tommy, 1,824
  24. William, 1,806
  25. Lucas, 1,771
  26. Isaac, 1,733
  27. Mohammed, 1,694
  28. Alexander, 1,651
  29. Albie, 1,641
  30. Roman, 1,640
  31. Edward, 1,612
  32. Jude, 1,601
  33. Elijah, 1,549
  34. James, 1,534
  35. Joshua, 1,478
  36. Reuben, 1,475
  37. Max, 1,459
  38. Rory, 1,435
  39. Sebastian, 1,409
  40. Louie, 1,396
  41. Adam, 1,374
  42. Mason, 1,369
  43. Ethan, 1,268 (tie)
  44. Hudson, 1,268 (tie)
  45. Harrison, 1,236
  46. Ezra, 1,217
  47. Hugo, 1,193
  48. Louis, 1,184
  49. Reggie, 1,159
  50. Joseph, 1,158

According to the news release from the Office of National Statistics…

  • In the girls’ top 10, Isabella replaced Willow.
  • In the boys’ top 10, Theodore, Theo, and Freddie replaced Harry, Henry, and Archie.
  • In the girls’ top 100, Ophelia, Ottilie, Eloise, Nova, and Fatima replaced Holly, Heidi, Anna, Amber, and Beatrice.
  • In the boys’ top 100, Leon, Elias, Musa, Axel, and Ibrahim replaced Charles, Harvey, Ollie, and Nathan.

England and Wales are two separate countries within the United Kingdom. (The rest of the UK is made up of Scotland and Northern Ireland.) In terms of population, England has about 56.5 million residents, whereas Wales has around 3.1 million.

Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names in each of the two countries individually:

EnglandWales
Top girl names1. Olivia, 3,144 baby girls
2. Amelia, 2,755
3. Isla, 2,476
4. Ava, 2,179
5. Lily, 2,158
6. Ivy, 2,081
7. Freya, 2,051
8. Florence, 1,878
9. Isabella, 1,847
10. Sienna, 1,788		1. Olivia, 145 baby girls
2. Isla, 137
3. Amelia 129
4. Lily, 122
5. Elsie, 120
6. Ava, 114 (tie)
7. Ivy, 114 (tie)
8. Millie, 111
9. Freya, 110
10. Ella, 104
Top boy names1. Noah, 4,320 baby boys
2. Muhammad, 4,136
3. George, 3,548
4. Oliver, 3,502
5. Leo, 3,470
6. Arthur, 3,423
7. Oscar, 2,729
8. Theodore, 2,720
9. Freddie, 2,620
10. Theo, 2,611		1. Noah, 264 baby boys
2. Theo, 196
3. Oliver, 188
4. Arthur, 180
5. Luca, 166
6. Oscar, 154
7. George, 149
8. Archie, 144
9. Freddie, 140
10. Leo, 139

And now let’s check out a selection of names from the other end of the spectrum.

Each of the rare names below was given to just 3 babies in England and Wales (combined) in 2022:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Accalia, Briseis, Casiana, Diellza, Ettalie, Farishta, Gwenna, Hestia, Irida, Iseult, Jun, Kanika, Larsa, Myfanwy, Nehizena, Ovelia, Prunella, Quinne, Renaelia, Siella, Tamima, Urte, Varnika, Wafaa, Xiana, Yuet, ZartashaAurion, Boyan, Cary, Daxson, Eifion, Flavian, Granth, Henrick, Ilai, Jasser, Klaidi, Llyr, Mordy, Naoise, Oax, Petrit, Quillon, Ransford, Sanchez, Torrin, Usaid, Volodymyr, Wolfy, Xand, Yudhveer, Zaamin

Renaelia’s usage was no doubt inspired by British influencer Imogen Horton, who welcomed a baby girl named Renaelia in September of 2022. Several weeks after the birth, Imogen posted a video in which she and her husband Spencer revealed the baby’s name and explained how it was coined.

Volodymyr’s usage may have been influenced by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Finally, here’s a link to England and Wales’ 2021 rankings, if you’d like to check them out.

Sources:

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