Josiah
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Meaning
“God supports”
The story
Josiah comes from the Hebrew Yoshiyahu, meaning Yahweh supports. Its biblical bearer was a king of Judah remembered for sweeping religious reforms. The name itself preserves an old divine element in a compact form. English Protestants adopted the name after the Reformation, but American use stayed quiet for centuries. The chart barely moves until the 1990s, then rises in the 2000s, climbs again in the 2010s, and reaches its strongest point in the 2020s. Josiah is part of the modern return of long biblical names, but it has a different texture from older standbys such as John or David. The soft ending and the easy short form Josie give an ancient royal name a surprisingly gentle sound. Its history is old; its broad American life is new.
How popular is Josiah around the world?
In the United States, 34,664 babies were named Josiah between 2020 and 2025.
Josiah is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, Canada, Puerto Rico, South Australia, England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Mexico City.
United States
1 in 630
In the United States, 34,664 babies were named Josiah between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Josiah peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 1,600
In New Zealand, 35 boys named Josiah were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 2,000
In Canada, 182 boys named Josiah were born in 2024, the 188th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Puerto Rico
1 in 2,300
In Puerto Rico, 8 babies were named Josiah in 2025, and 18 have carried the name since 1998.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
South Australia
1 in 2,6002017
In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Josiah in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 2,700
In England and Wales, 220 boys named Josiah were born in 2025, the 226th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 11,000
In Ireland, 5 boys named Josiah were born in 2025, the 577th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 boys named Josiah were registered in 2024, the 619th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Josiah in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
last on record 2021
Josiah is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2021
Josiah is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Poland
last on record 2015
Josiah is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the record in Spain: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Josiah
Most people given the name Josiah in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Josiah · Names that go with Josiah · Middle names for Josiah
The Josiah deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Josiah truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Josiah fits with your family’s names and surname.
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