UK boy's name
Yoseph
Of Hebrew origin, meaning "he will add" or "he will increase".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2021. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Yoseph is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Yoseph popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2021 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4789, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2012, with 8 births.
This profile covers 57 England and Wales registrations across 14 recorded years from 1998 to 2021. 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 38% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 57 living people in the UK are called Yoseph. 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 2022 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Yoseph ranked #4789 for boys in England and Wales in 2021, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2012, when 8 boys were registered as Yoseph.
- • About 57 living people in the UK are estimated to have Yoseph as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4789
2021
Births in 2021
3
Latest year
Peak year
2012
8 births
Estimated living
57
2026
Meaning
What does Yoseph mean?
The name Yoseph is a Hebrew name derived from the biblical figure Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Hebrew, where it is believed to have come from the root word "yasaf," meaning "to add" or "to increase."
The name gained widespread recognition through the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis, where he is depicted as a dreamer and interpreter of dreams. Joseph's name is first mentioned in Genesis 30:24, where his mother Rachel says, "May the Lord add to me another son."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yoseph is in the Bible, where Joseph's story is recounted in great detail. He is portrayed as a virtuous and wise man who rose from being a slave to become the second-in-command of Egypt, saving the country from famine through his interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Yoseph. One of the most famous was Yosef ben Matityahu, better known as Flavius Josephus (37-100 CE), a Jewish historian and military leader who chronicled the Jewish-Roman wars and wrote extensively about ancient Jewish history and culture.
Another prominent Yoseph was Yosef Caro (1488-1575), a renowned Jewish scholar and codifier of Jewish law, best known for his monumental work, the Shulchan Arukh, which became the authoritative code of Jewish law for many communities.
In the Islamic tradition, the name Yusuf (the Arabic equivalent of Yoseph) is also revered, as it is the name of the prophet Joseph in the Quran. One of the most famous bearers of this name was Yusuf Ibn Tashfin (1009-1106), the founder of the Almoravid dynasty and a prominent military leader in North Africa and Spain.
The name Yoseph has also been borne by several notable figures in more recent history, such as Yosef Haim Brenner (1881-1921), a pioneering Hebrew writer and one of the founders of modern Hebrew literature, and Yosef Shalom Eliashiv (1910-2012), a respected Haredi rabbi and posek (authority on Jewish law) in Israel.
Throughout its long history, the name Yoseph has transcended its biblical origins and has been embraced by various cultures and religions, carrying with it the connotations of wisdom, virtue, and leadership.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Yoseph over time
The chart below shows babies named Yoseph registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1998 to 2021. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Yoseph, the clearest high point is 2012. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2021, compared with 8 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yoseph by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Yoseph 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 | #4789 | 3 | 1 |
| 2010s | #3151 | 23 | 4 |
| 2000s | #3445 | 28 | 8 |
| 1990s | #2901 | 3 | 1 |
Related
Names similar to Yoseph
- 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
Yoseph: questions and answers
How popular is the name Yoseph in the UK right now?
In 2021, Yoseph was ranked #4789 for boys in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Yoseph most popular?
The peak year on record was 2012, with 8 babies registered as Yoseph in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Yoseph?
Of Hebrew origin, meaning "he will add" or "he will increase".
How many people are called Yoseph in the UK?
A total of 57 babies have been registered as Yoseph across the 14 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.