Josue
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Meaning
“God is salvation (French form of Joshua); a common Haitian given name”
The story
The stones are meant to make children ask questions. In the biblical Book of Joshua, representatives of the tribes carry stones from the Jordan to their camp, and the account later places a memorial at Gilgal. Its purpose looks ahead: when children ask what the stones mean, adults can tell them about the crossing on dry ground. Josue is written Josué in French, Spanish and Portuguese, where it is a form of Joshua. The name traces to Hebrew Yehoshua, conventionally understood as Yahweh is salvation. The episode gives that ancient name a story centered on passing memory between generations. The children have not yet asked their question; the memorial is waiting for them. A journey described in the text becomes something to explain again, with an ordinary question about stones opening the way into the larger account.
Josue's name family
One shared root links 4 names across 2 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Yehoshua "Yahweh is salvation"; Jesus continues the same name through its contracted late-Hebrew form Yeshua
The constellation
More branches
In written records since at least 1750: the Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision of 1750.
How popular is Josue around the world?
In the United States, 6,778 babies were named Josue between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 201 registrations of Josue in 2022.
Josue is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Spain, Montevideo, Canada and France.
Josue crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of a Spanish-speaking record and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full list: Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 3,200
In the United States, 6,778 babies were named Josue between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Josue peaked in the 2010s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 580
In Mexico City, there were 201 registrations of Josue 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 (11 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 820
In Chile, 216 boys were registered as Josue in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Argentina
1 in 1,200
In Argentina, 565 newborns were given the name Josue in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,500
In Puerto Rico, 12 babies were named Josue in 2025, and 1,717 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
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)
Brazil
1 in 1,800
At the 2022 census, 112,149 people in Brazil were named Josue, the 288th most common name, with a median age of 28.
Among people named Josue living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 12,195 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 5,400
In Spain, 8,340 residents are named Josue, the 306th most common name among men, with a mean age of 30.5 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Montevideo City
1 in 8,2002011
In Montevideo, 3 boys named Josue were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Canada
1 in 23,000
In Canada, 16 boys named Josue were born in 2024, ranked 1,390th 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)
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 boys named Josue were born in 2025, ranked 4,122nd among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Josue, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
last on record 2024
Josue 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 2 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)
England and Wales
last on record 2024
Josue is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
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
South Australia
last on record 2015
Josue is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
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 Josue
Most people given the name Josue in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Josue · Names that go with Josue · Haitian baby names
The Josue deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Josue 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 Josue fits with your family’s names and surname.
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