Happy National Joe Day!
What a holiday! On March 27th, if you don’t like your name, you can call yourself Joe….or Jo.
And why not? Joe is one of the friendliest, most down-to-earth, and (in our opinion) most appealing names around.
I suppose I’m speaking for myself (it’s Pam), rather than taking an Official Nameberry Position. I come from a long line of Joes – my father and grandfather were both named Joe – and I named my son Joe too, partly in honor of them but mostly because I love the name.
Despite the sophistication of many of the name tastes on Nameberry, and many of my personal name tastes as well, I see Joe as combining the best of modern simplicity and ancient roots. The modern Joseph derives from the Hebrew Yosef and the Greek and Latin Ioseph, meaning “he will increase.”
The name Joseph appears in both the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament Joseph was the eleventh and favorite son of Jacob, exiled by his jealous brothers to Egypt, where he became an advisor to the pharaoh.The best-known New Testament Joseph was, of course, the carpenter husband of the Virgin Mary, but Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy disciple who had Jesus buried in his own tomb.In the Middle Ages, the name Joseph was used mostly by Jews, though as the veneration of St. Joseph increased, his name increasingly became used by Christians.
Today, Joseph is used through the Western World. Familiar variations include the Italian Giuseppe (which can be shortened to Beppe) and the Spanish Jose, with the diminutive Pepito. But there’s also the Dutch Joop, the Irish Seosamh, and the Maori Hohepa.
Feminine variations include the lovely Josephine and the more obscure Josepha and Josette. While Joanna and Joanne have often been used to honor ancestral Josephs, and can be shortened to Jo, they actually derive from John.
Joey of course is a common short form of Joseph, though some people (i.e. me) don’t like that. My preference is Joe.
Joseph has always been in the US Top 20, dipping to its lowest point ever at #20 in the most recent year counted, 2010. It’s the seventh most popular name of all time in the US.
Joe slang includes: cup of Joe (coffee), used from the 1940s; Regular or Average Joe; G.I. Joe; and Joe the Plumber. There’s Joe Cool, Joe Camel, and even a one-named R & B singer named Joe.
Famous Joes (and Josephs and Jos) include world rulers, athletes, and stars. Here, our favorite iconic Josephs, Joes, Josephines and Josies.
comments
10 Responses to “Happy National Joe Day!”
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
halfkoreangirl Says:
Sarah.Jane Says:
I know way too many Joe/Joey/Joseph’s to actually use it, but I read a book where the character went by Seph instead of Joseph. It really worked!
I do love Johanna a lot though!
Lola Says:
I too love Joe. I don’t like Jo, however & my Josephine defaults to Josie. (she rotates through the rest of her nicknames on a weekly basis but will always answer to Josie as well).
We have a dear friend named Joseph, goes by Joey still, even though he’s 48. I have 12 cousins named Joseph, all named in honor of my crazy, coal miner Gagi. My Mother’s oldest sister was also Josephine in honor of Gagi.
A Joseph could be anything, &
I think Joseph is fabulous while of course, I love Josephine. What a great name! 
chapitaism Says:
It remember me of Joey Tribbiani fictional character in Friends 
I loved that show. My grandpa is named Jose, and so is one of my uncles, so I have some affection to that name too.
SuperMrsPackman Says:
I agree, bad bad bad picture of Joseph Smith.
Sarah.Jane Says:
Joseph seems to be one of those names that you can have multiples in the family and it is okay.
Our family does that with Robert. There are so many Roberts!
Mischa Says:
My late grandfather was a Joseph who was called just Joe. No one ever called him anything else. My brother’s middle name is also Joseph. I think it’s a down-to-earth solid citizen kind of name that never goes out of style.
OliviaSarah Says:
I like Joe. This seems like a rather worthless blog post, though, with all respect.
miloowen Says:
My ex-husband was Joseph, called Joe.
I love the name Joseph, although I prefer the Catalan form Josep and the nn Pepe.
I also like Jossi, the Yiddish nn for Josef/Yosef and Joss, which is a nn for both Joseph and Josiah.
I don’t think this is a wasted blog, although it would have been nice if it had been posted on St Joseph’s Day.
KourtneyQ Says:
With all the trendy baby names I keep hearing, Joe is music to my ears.
leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Search The Blog
Categories...
All posts from the Nameberry blog sorted by category
- Baby Name News
- Baby Names
- Baby Names Popularity
- Berry Juice
- Boy Baby Names
- Celebrity Names
- Classic Baby Names
- Cool Baby Names
- Family Names
- Gallery
- Girl Baby Names
- Guest Bloggers
- Historic Names
- International Baby Names
- Meanings of Baby Names
- Middle, Last and Nicknames
- Name Image
- Names from the Arts & Pop Culture
- Nature, Place and Word Names
- Pregnancy & Baby
- Questions of the Week
- Sibling and Multiple Names
- Spellings, Sounds and Initials
- Trends and Predictions
- Unisex Baby Names
- Unusual Baby Names
Archives
All posts from the Nameberry blog sorted by date
Popular Posts
Some of our most popular blog posts
Recent Posts
Some of our most recent blog posts
Links
About Us
Author experts Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz revolutionized baby naming.
See More
That is a HORRIBLE picture of Joseph Smith. Seriously.