Josiah
Top 1000
About Josiah
Josiah—a biblical name with lots of quaint, old-fashioned charm—makes a much fresher sounding alternative to either Joseph or Joshua, combining the best of both. Josiah is among the several Biblical boys' names that have been on the rise this decade.
Josiah is derived from Yoshiyahu, a Hebrew name from the components yoshi, meaning "support," and Yahu, referring to the Hebrew god.
In the Old Testament, Josiah was an upright king of Judah from the age of eight, after his father Amon was murdered. Josias is a related Latin variation that is found in some biblical translations.
Two Josiahs, Wedgwood and Spode, founded the fine English potteries that bear their names. Josiah Bartlett was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the President on The West Wing shared his name, being a fictional descendant.
Charles Dickens used the name for a character in his novel Hard Times and Josiah Borden is a character in Eugene O'Neill's tragedy Mourning Becomes Electra.
Pronounced joh-SY-uh.
As of October 2026, Josiah ranked #54 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #45 in 2019, Nameberry popularity #234.
Editor's take: The name Josiah is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God supports, heals".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #64 | 6,479 | 3,372.9 |
| 2015 | #57 | 6,672 | 3,480.9 |
| 2016 | #55 | 7,022 | 3,700.2 |
| 2017 | #51 | 7,073 | 3,821.3 |
| 2018 | #52 | 6,681 | 3,678.6 |
| 2019 | #45 | 6,838 | 3,811.1 |
| 2020 | #49 | 6,162 | 3,569.9 |
| 2021 | #49 | 6,146 | 3,513 |
| 2022 | #51 | 5,825 | 3,336.2 |
| 2023 | #53 | 5,430 | 3,174.4 |
| 2024 | #53 | 5,457 | 3,167.4 |
| 2025 | #54 | 5,509 | 3,225.3 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Josiah.
- Isaiah
- Alec
- Dominic
- Adrian
- Evan
- Colin
- Matteo
- Ian
- Seth
- Tristan
- Isaac
- Marcus
- Ezekiel
- Jeremiah
- Gabriel
- Nicolas
- Leon
- Nathaniel
- Jonah
- Zachariah
Josiah on lists
Famous Josiahs
- Josiah Henson
American minister, author and abolitionist
- Josiah
King of Judah
- Josiah Bartlett
American politician; 4th Governor of New Hampshire
- Josiah Royce
American pragmatist philosopher
- Josiah Henry
American actor
- Josiah Wedgwood
English china potter
- Josiah Kirby "J.K." Lilly
American pharmaceutical industrialist; son of Eli Lilly
- Josiah 'Jossi' Wells
New Zealand freestyle skier
- Josiah Willard Gibbs
American physicist
- Josiah Ng
Malaysian cyclist
- Josiah Matthew Duggar (b. 1996)
8th child of reality TV's Duggar Family
- Josiah Yoba (b. 2003)
son of American actor Malik Yoba
- Josiah Angel Solomon (b. 2009)
octuplet of Nadya Suleman
- Josiah Jensen (b. 2013)
son of NFL player Marcel Jensen
- Josiah David Croft (b. 2015)
son of Christian singer Beth Croft
- Slater Josiah Vance (b. 2006)
son of actors Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance; twin of sister Bronwyn Golden
- Josiah Queen
Christian singer/songwriter
Josiah in pop culture
- Josiah Bartlett
U.S. President on TV's 'The West Wing'
- Josiah Bounderby
character in Charles Dickens' "Hard Times"
- Josiah Borden
character in Eugene O'Neill's "Mourning Becomes Electra"
- Josiah Gordon 'Doc' Scurlock
character in film "Young Guns"
- Josiah Power
character in DC Comics
- Josiah X
character in Marvel Comics
- Josiah Elkins
character in film "Ghost Brigade"
- Josiah Millbank
character in "A good woman" by Danielle Steel
- Nicknames could be Si
Jos or Joe