first name
JOSH
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 125,623 people named Josh, 81.2% reported their origin as White, 7.8% as Hispanic or Latino and 4.2% as Black. Virtually all are male (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Thanks! We'll make the most-wanted one next.
Josh peaked in 1979, when 531 babies got the name.
At least 17,288 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Josh by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #773. The largest share of babies named Josh, 29.6%, were born between 1965 and 1980, Generation X's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Josh is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Josh has been most common in Florida (2.1×), Louisiana (1.7×), and Georgia (1.6×), and least common in Connecticut (0.27×).
11,813 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Josh
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Josh, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Josh ranks #69,958 of 156,621, with 302 people. See Josh as a last name
Compare
🔎 JOSH 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 2,404 Americans Rarer than 56.4% of us Peaked in 1979 with 531 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/josh/