Josiah
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
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.
Josiah is also given to girls, where it ranks #8083 in the US.
Pronounced joh-SY-uh.
As of October 2026, Josiah ranked #54 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #45 in 2019, Nameberry popularity #135.
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
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Josiah on lists
Famous Josiahs
- Josiah HensonBoy
American minister, author and abolitionist
- JosiahBoy
King of Judah
- Josiah BartlettBoy
American politician; 4th Governor of New Hampshire
- Josiah RoyceBoy
American pragmatist philosopher
- Josiah HenryBoy
American actor
- Josiah WedgwoodBoy
English china potter
- Josiah Kirby "J.K." LillyBoy
American pharmaceutical industrialist; son of Eli Lilly
- Josiah 'Jossi' WellsBoy
New Zealand freestyle skier
- Josiah Willard GibbsBoy
American physicist
- Josiah NgBoy
Malaysian cyclist
- Josiah Matthew Duggar (b. 1996)Boy
8th child of reality TV's Duggar Family
- Josiah Yoba (b. 2003)Boy
son of American actor Malik Yoba
- Josiah Angel Solomon (b. 2009)Boy
octuplet of Nadya Suleman
- Josiah Jensen (b. 2013)Boy
son of NFL player Marcel Jensen
- Josiah David Croft (b. 2015)Boy
son of Christian singer Beth Croft
- Slater Josiah Vance (b. 2006)Boy
son of actors Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance; twin of sister Bronwyn Golden
- Josiah QueenBoy
Christian singer/songwriter
Josiah in pop culture
- Josiah BartlettBoy
U.S. President on TV's 'The West Wing'
- Josiah BounderbyBoy
character in Charles Dickens' "Hard Times"
- Josiah BordenBoy
character in Eugene O'Neill's "Mourning Becomes Electra"
- Josiah Gordon 'Doc' ScurlockBoy
character in film "Young Guns"
- Josiah PowerBoy
character in DC Comics
- Josiah XBoy
character in Marvel Comics
- Josiah ElkinsBoy
character in film "Ghost Brigade"
- Josiah MillbankBoy
character in "A good woman" by Danielle Steel
- Nicknames could be SiBoy
Jos or Joe