UK boy's name
Yehoshua
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "God is salvation" or "Yahweh saves".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Yehoshua is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Yehoshua popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3254, with 6 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2009, with 7 births.
This profile covers 93 England and Wales registrations across 22 recorded years from 1997 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 86% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 92 living people in the UK are called Yehoshua. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Yehoshua ranked #3254 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 6 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2009, when 7 boys were registered as Yehoshua.
- • About 92 living people in the UK are estimated to have Yehoshua as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3254
2024
Births in 2024
6
Latest year
Peak year
2009
7 births
Estimated living
92
2026
Meaning
What does Yehoshua mean?
The name Yehoshua is a Hebrew name that originated in ancient Israel. It is derived from the Hebrew words "Yeho" meaning "Yahweh" and "shua" meaning "salvation" or "deliverance". The name can be translated as "Yahweh is salvation" or "Yahweh saves".
Yehoshua is the original Hebrew name of Joshua, a figure who is prominent in the Bible's Old Testament. He was a leader of the Israelites and succeeded Moses as the one who led the Israelites across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land of Canaan. The Book of Joshua in the Hebrew Bible recounts his life and military campaigns.
One of the earliest known examples of the name Yehoshua is found in the Book of Numbers in the Bible, where it refers to Joshua, son of Nun, who was appointed by Moses as his successor. This Joshua lived around the 13th century BCE.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Yehoshua or its variants. One of the most famous was Yehoshua ben Perahyah, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 2nd century BCE and was the president of the Sanhedrin, the highest court of ancient Israel.
Another well-known bearer of the name was Yehoshua ben Hananiah, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 1st century CE and is credited with establishing the Hebrew calendar still used today.
In the 16th century, there was Yehoshua Halorki, a prominent rabbi and Talmudic scholar who lived in Poland and wrote several influential works on Jewish law and Kabbalah.
Yehoshua Salanter, who lived from 1810 to 1883, was a prominent rabbi and one of the founders of the Musar movement, which aimed to promote ethical behavior and character development among Jews.
These are just a few examples of notable figures throughout history who bore the name Yehoshua, which has its roots in ancient Hebrew and biblical tradition.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Yehoshua over time
The chart below shows babies named Yehoshua registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1997 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Yehoshua, the clearest high point is 2009. The latest England and Wales figure is 6 births in 2024, compared with 7 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yehoshua by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Yehoshua was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #3551 | 10 | 2 |
| 2010s | #3633 | 37 | 8 |
| 2000s | #3208 | 40 | 10 |
| 1990s | #2880 | 6 | 2 |
Related
Names similar to Yehoshua
- Yusuf 11,801
- Yahya 5,758
- Yunus 2,009
- Yaseen 1,799
- Yasin 1,797
- Yuvraj 1,605
- Yaqub 1,517
- Yousef 1,489
- Yousuf 1,454
- Yasir 1,056
- Yash 876
- Youssef 749
FAQ
Yehoshua: questions and answers
How popular is the name Yehoshua in the UK right now?
In 2024, Yehoshua was ranked #3254 for boys in England and Wales, with 6 births registered.
When was Yehoshua most popular?
The peak year on record was 2009, with 7 babies registered as Yehoshua in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Yehoshua?
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "God is salvation" or "Yahweh saves".
How many people are called Yehoshua in the UK?
A total of 93 babies have been registered as Yehoshua across the 22 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.