Meaning and history
Joshua is an English name derived from the Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshuaʿ), meaning “Yahweh is salvation,” from יְהוֹ (yeho), referring to the Hebrew God, and יָשַׁע (yashaʿ), meaning “to save.” In the Old Testament, Joshua was Moses’ companion; he accompanied him up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, later served as one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan, and after Moses’ death succeeded him as leader of the Israelites and led the conquest of Canaan. His original name was Hoshea, and the name Jesus comes from a Greek transcription of the Aramaic short form יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshuaʿ), which was the real name of Jesus. As an English name, Joshua has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.
20062006: 22,336 births, rank #3
2007: 20,669 births, rank #4
2008: 19,231 births, rank #4
2009: 17,671 births, rank #6
2010: 15,467 births, rank #11
20112011: 13,797 births, rank #14
2012: 12,681 births, rank #17
2013: 11,861 births, rank #21
2014: 10,929 births, rank #25
2015: 9,850 births, rank #33
20162016: 9,258 births, rank #35
2017: 8,353 births, rank #38
2018: 7,446 births, rank #40
2019: 6,631 births, rank #48
2020: 6,015 births, rank #53
20212021: 5,531 births, rank #58
2022: 5,197 births, rank #60
2023: 5,070 births, rank #60
2024: 5,268 births, rank #57
20252025: 4,773 births, rank #66
Joshua has unusual staying power. It appears in the US records as early as 1880 and still ranks #66 for boys in 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1989, with 44,100 births.