Joseph

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Joseph

Gender: Masculine
Language: English, French
Etymology:
Joseph is the English form of a Hebrew name, Yosef, or Iuceph. Originally it meant “May Jehovah Add,” or “Jehovah has added.”

History:
In the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, Joseph was a rare, religious name. After the Norman Invasion, it became more common. However, it did become popular until the 17th century.

Pronunciation: jo-seff.

Diminutives:
Czech: Józa, Jozanek, Jozka.
English: Joe, Joey.
German: Sepp, Seppel.
Hawaiian: Ioei.
Italian: Beppe, Beppo.
Spanish: Che, Chepe, Chepito, Josecito, Joseito, Pepe, Pepillo, Pepito.

Alternates: Juceph.
Arabic: Yosef, Youssef, Yusuf.
Basque: Joseba, Txanton.
Catalan: Josep.
Czech: Josef, Joska.
Danish: Josef.
Dutch: Josef.
Finnish: Joosef, Joosep.
Galician: Xosé.
Georgian: Ioseb.
German: Josef.
Hawaiian: Iokepa.
Hungarian: József, Joska, Jozsi.
Irish Gaelic: Seosamh.
Italian: Giuseppe.
Latin: Josephus.
Polish: Józef.
Russian: Iosif, Osip.
Scandinavian: Josef.
Scottish: Iòseph, Seòsaidh.
Serbian: Josip.
Spanish: José.
Ukrainian: Osip.

Feminine: Josepha, Josephine.

See also: Jody, Joe, Joey, José.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593)
Italian painter.
Giuseppe Maria Crespi (1665-1747)
Italian painter.
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689-1755)
French composer.
Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770)
Italian composer.
Joseph Highmore (1692-1780)
English painter.
Giuseppe Parini (1729-1799)
Italian writer and poet.
Giuseppe Sarti (1729-1802)
Italian composer.
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Austrian composer.
Joseph Wright (1734-1797)
English painter.
József Katona (1791-1830)
Hungarian playwright.
Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli (1791-1863)
Italian poet.
Giuseppe Giusti (1809-1850)
Italian poet.
Joseph Gungl (1810-1889)
Austrian-Hungarian composer.
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Italian composer.
Joseph Keppler (1838-1894)
American humorist.
Joseph Rheinberger (1839-1901)
German composer.
Joseph Furphy (1843-1912)
Australian author.
Joseph Pickett (1848-1918)
American painter.
Josef Bohuslav Förster (1859-1951)
Czech composer.
Joseph Jongen (1873-1953)
Belgian composer.
Josef Lhevinne (1874-1944)
Russian violinist.
Josef Casimir Hofmann (1876-1957)
Polish-American pianist.
Josef Albers (1888-1976)
German painter and poet.
Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888-1970)
Italian poet.
Osip Emilyevich Mandelshtam (1891-1938)
Russian poet.
Josef Weinheber (1892-1945)
Austrian poet.
Báró József Eötvös (1892-1975)
Hungarian novelist.
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (1896-1957)
Italian author.
Joseph Fuchs (1900-1997)
American violinist.
Josef Gingold (1909-1995)
Russian-American violinist.
Joseph McElroy (1930-)
American novelist.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Joseph Genesius (10th century)
Byzantine scholar.
Joseph Kimhi (1105-1170)
European grammarian.
Joseph Albo (1380-1444)
Spanish-Jewish philosopher.
Josef Dobrovsk (1753-1829)
Czech linguist.
Joseph Lakanal (1762-1845)
French educational reformer.
Giuseppe Ferrari (1811-1876)
Italian historian.
Giuseppe Fiorelli (1823-1896)
Italian archaeologist.
Josef Kohler (1849-1919)
German jurist and writer on law.
Joseph A. Schumpeter (1883-1950)
American economist and sociologist.
Joseph H. Greenberg (1915-)
American anthropologist.

Miscellaneous:
Joseph Hilarius Eckhel (1737-1798)
Austrian numismatist (coin-collector) who set the standards for collecting.
Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837)
English clown.
Giuseppe Maria Fieschi (1790-1836)
Attempted to assassinate King Louis-Philippe of France.
Joseph Moses Levy (1812-1888)
English journalist. Founded the Daily Telegraph.
Joseph Monier (1823-1906)
French gardener and inventor of reinforced concrete.
Joseph Wheeler (1836-1906)
Confederate cavalry general.
Joseph Roth (1894-1939)
Austrian-Hungarian journalist.
Joseph Valachi (1903-1971)
American gangster.
Josef Gingold (1906-1954)
Nazi concentration camp commander. Called the Beast of Belsen. Executed by the British.
Joseph Alsop (1910-1989)
American journalist.
Josef Mengele (1911-1979)
Nazi doctor. Called Angel of Death. Escaped to South America.
Joseph George Sobek (1918-1998)
Inventor of racquetball.
Joseph A. Colombo, Sr. (1923-1978)
A organized crime boss of Brooklyn.

Places:
Saint Joseph
City and County, Michigan
Saint Joseph River
Michigan

Political Figures:
Father Joseph (1577-1638)
Assistant to Cardinal Richelieu.
Joseph Bonaparte (Italian: Giuseppe Buonaparte) (1768-1844)
Brother of Napoleon. Made King of Naples.
Joseph Hume (1777-1855)
English radical politician.
Josip Jelacic (1801-1859)
Croatian politician.
Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872)
Italian patriot and leader toward unification.
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882)
Italian patriot who helped lead the country toward unification.
Giuseppe La Farina (1815-1863)
Italian patriot and historian.
Joseph Arch (1826-1919)
English labor leader.
Giuseppe Zanardelli (1826-1903)
Italian Prime Minister.
Chief Joseph (Hinmaton Yalatkit) (1840-1904)
Famous Nez Percé chief.
Josephus Daniels (1862-1948)
American Secretary of the Navy during World War I.
Joseph Caillaux (1863-1944)
French politician imprisoned for treason for opposing World War II.
Joseph Redlich (1869-1936)
Austrian statesman.
Giuseppe Motta (1871-1940)
Swiss politician.
Joseph Stalin (Russian: Iosif Stalin) (1879-1953)
Soviet dictator. Originally named Ioseb Dzhugashvili.
Joseph P. Kennedy (1888-1969)
Senator and patriarch of the Kennedy family political dynasty.
József Mindszenty (1892-1975)
Polish priest and opposer of fascism and communist.
Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980)
Yugoslavian politician.
Giuseppe Saragat (1898-1988)
Italian statesman. Founder of the Socialist Party of Italian Workers.
József Antall (1932-1993)
Prime Minister of Hungary.
Joseph A. Ghiz (1945-1996)
Premier of Prince Edward Island.

Religious Figures:
Joseph
Son of Jacob and Rachel. Sold into Egyptian slavery by his jealous brothers, he became a favorite of the pharaoh, enabling him to rescue his family from famine.
Saint Joseph
Husband to Mary and earthly father to Jesus Christ.
Saint Joseph of Arimathea (?- circa 30 A.D.)
A secret disciple of Jesus.
Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (Russian: (1439-1515)
Husband to Mary and earthly father to Jesus Christ.
Saint Joseph Calasanz (Spanish: San José de Calasanz, Italian: San Giuseppe Calasanzio) (1556-1648)
Founder of the Piarists.
Saint Giuseppe Cottolengo (1786-1842)
Founder of the Societies of the Little House of Divine Providence.
Joseph Smith, III (1832-1914)
A leader of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Royalty:
Joseph I (1678-1711)
Holy Roman Emperor.
King Joseph of Portugal (1714-1777)
Ruled from 1750 to 1777.
Joseph II (1741-1790)
Holy Roman Emperor. Also, the Austrian Emperor. He attempted to enact liberal reforms, and was hated for it.

Scientists:
Joseph de Jussieu (1704-1779)
French botanist.
Josef Gottlieb Kölreuter (1733-1806)
German botanist.
Giuseppe Piazzi (1746-1826)
Italian astronomer.
Joseph-Louis Proust (1754-1826)
French chemist.
Joseph Jackson Lister (1786-1869)
English scientist. Helped perfect the microscope.
Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787-1826)
German physicist.
Joseph Loschmidt (1821-1895)
German chemist.
Josef Stefan (1835-1893)
Austrian physicist.
Josef Breuer (1842-1925)
Austrian physician and physiologist. Forerunner to psychoanalysis.
Joseph-Achille Le Bel (1847-1930)
French chemist.
Sir Joseph Larmor (1857-1942)
Irish physicist.
Giuseppe Peano (1858-1932)
Italian mathematician.
Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956)
German architect.
Joseph Augustine Cushman (1881-1949)
American paleontologist.
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (1886-1960)
Italian engineer and airplane designer.
Joseph Needham (1900-1995)
English biochemist.
Joseph L. Goldstein (1940-)
American geneticist. Co-winner of the 1895 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.

Singers and Entertainers:
Josef von Sternberg (1894-1969)
Austrian-American filmmaker.
Joseph Green(berg) (1900-1996)
Polish filmmaker.
Josef Locke (1917-1999)
Irish tenor.
Joseph Maher (1933-1998)
Irish-American actor.
Joseph Losey (1909-1984)
American film director.
Giuseppe De Santis (1917-1997)
Italian filmmaker.

Popularity of Joseph:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
1.404 % named Joseph
0.613 named José
0.321 % named Joe
0.043 % named Joey
0.006 % named Josef
0.005 % named Giuseppe

Popularity of Joseph:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1800: 5th most popular.
1850: 8th most popular.
1875: 8th most popular.
1880: 6th most popular.
1881: 6th most popular.
1882: 7th most popular.
1883: 6th most popular.
1884: 7th most popular.
1885: 4th most popular.
1886: 6th most popular.
1887: 6th most popular.
1888: 4th most popular.
1889: 6th most popular.
1890: 6th most popular.
1891: 5th most popular.
1892: 4th most popular.
1893: 4th most popular.
1894: 5th most popular.
1895: 3rd most popular.
1896: 5th most popular.
1897: 5th most popular.
1898: 5th most popular.
1899: 5th most popular.
1900: 6th most popular.
1901: 4th most popular.
1902: 5th most popular.
1903: 5th most popular.
1904: 5th most popular.
1905: 6th most popular.
1906: 4th most popular.
1907: 6th most popular.
1908: 5th most popular.
1909: 5th most popular.
1910: 5th most popular.
1911: 4th most popular.
1912: 6th most popular.
1913: 5th most popular.
1914: 5th most popular.
1915: 5th most popular.
1916: 7th most popular.
1917: 5th most popular.
1918: 5th most popular.
1919: 6th most popular.
1920: 5th most popular.
1921: 7th most popular.
1922: 5th most popular.
1923: 7th most popular.
1924: 6th most popular.
1925: 6th most popular.
1926: 8th most popular.
1927: 8th most popular.
1928: 9th most popular.
1929: 9th most popular.
1930: 9th most popular.
1931: 9th most popular.
1932: 9th most popular.
1933: 8th most popular.
1934: 10th most popular.
1935: N/A
1936: 10th most popular.
1940-1950: 13th most popular.
1942: 10th most popular.
1950-1960: 13th most popular.
1960-1970: 12th most popular.
1964: 10th most popular.
1970-1980: 12th most popular.
1976: 10th most popular.
1977: 10th most popular.
1978: 10th most popular.
1980-1990: 10th most popular.
1983: 10th most popular.
1984: N/A
1985: 8th most popular.
1986-1987: N/A
1988: 10th most popular.
1989: 8th most popular.
1990: 10th most popular.
1991: 9th most popular.
1992: 11th most popular.
1993: 12th most popular.
1994: 11th most popular.
1995: 12th most popular.
1996: 12th most popular.
1997: 12th most popular.
1998: 12th most popular.
1999: 8th most popular.
2000: 8th most popular.
2001: 8th most popular.
2002: 6th most popular.
2003: 6th most popular.

In France...
1900: 3rd most popular.
1910: 8th most popular.
1920: 13th most popular.
1930: 17th most popular.
1940: 24th most popular.
1950: 43rd most popular.
1960: 64th most popular.
1970: 106th most popular.
1980: 153rd most popular.
1990: 180th most popular.
2000: 170th most popular.

In Ireland...
1998: 40th most popular.
1999: 31st most popular.
2000: 33rd most popular.
2001: 31st most popular.
2002: 33rd most popular.
2003: 32nd most popular.

Popularity of Josef:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 505th most popular.
1910-1920: 771st most popular.
1920-1970: N/A
1970-1980: 856th most popular.
1980-1990: 741st most popular.
1990: 797th most popular.
1991: 848th most popular.
1992: 805th most popular.
1993: 797th most popular.
1994: 794th most popular.
1995: 831st most popular.
1996: 797th most popular.
1997: 776th most popular.
1998: 771st most popular.
1999: 729th most popular.
2000: 818th most popular.
2001: 800th most popular.
2002: 859th most popular.
2003: 898th most popular.

Popularity of Giuseppe:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 454th most popular.
1910-1920: 807th most popular.
1920-1970: N/A
1970-1980: 777th most popular.
1980-2000: N/A