UK boy's name
Yosif
An Arabic form of the Hebrew masculine name Joseph, meaning "he will add".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2023. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Yosif is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Yosif popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2023 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4107, with 4 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2013, with 4 births.
This profile covers 28 England and Wales registrations across 8 recorded years from 2010 to 2023. 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 100% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 28 living people in the UK are called Yosif. 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 2024 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Yosif ranked #4107 for boys in England and Wales in 2023, with 4 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2013, when 4 boys were registered as Yosif.
- • About 28 living people in the UK are estimated to have Yosif as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4107
2023
Births in 2023
4
Latest year
Peak year
2013
4 births
Estimated living
28
2026
Meaning
What does Yosif mean?
The name Yosif is derived from the Hebrew name Yosef, which means "he will add" or "he will increase". It is the name of an important biblical figure, Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel. The name has its origins in the ancient Near East and is found in the Book of Genesis.
Joseph, whose name is Yosif in Arabic and other Semitic languages, was one of the twelve sons of Jacob and played a pivotal role in the narrative of the Israelites' migration to Egypt. He was sold into slavery by his brothers but later rose to become the vizier of Egypt, second only to the pharaoh himself.
The name Yosif gained widespread popularity among Jews, Christians, and Muslims due to its biblical and Quranic significance. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
In the Islamic tradition, Yusuf (the Arabic form of the name) is revered as a prophet, and an entire chapter in the Quran is dedicated to his story. This further solidified the name's prominence in the Muslim world.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yosif or its variations. One of the most famous was Yosef ben Matityahu, better known as Flavius Josephus (37-100 CE), a Jewish historian whose works provided valuable insights into the Jewish-Roman wars and the history of ancient Judea.
Another notable figure was Yusuf ibn Tashfin (1009-1106 CE), the Almoravid ruler who established a powerful Islamic empire in North Africa and parts of Spain. He played a crucial role in the Reconquista period of the Iberian Peninsula.
In the realm of literature, Yusuf Khass Hajib (11th century CE) was a renowned poet and author of the Kutadgu Bilig, a revered work of Turkic literature that explored themes of ethics, governance, and wisdom.
A more recent example is Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens (born 1948), a British singer-songwriter and convert to Islam, who has been an influential figure in the Muslim community and a proponent of peace and humanitarian causes.
Yosif has also been a popular name among Eastern European and Slavic populations, particularly in Russia, where it has been rendered as Iosif or Osip.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Yosif over time
The chart below shows babies named Yosif registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2010 to 2023. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Yosif, the clearest high point is 2013. The latest England and Wales figure is 4 births in 2023, compared with 4 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yosif by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Yosif 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 | #4299 | 11 | 3 |
| 2010s | #4399 | 17 | 5 |
Related
Names similar to Yosif
- 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
Yosif: questions and answers
How popular is the name Yosif in the UK right now?
In 2023, Yosif was ranked #4107 for boys in England and Wales, with 4 births registered.
When was Yosif most popular?
The peak year on record was 2013, with 4 babies registered as Yosif in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Yosif?
An Arabic form of the Hebrew masculine name Joseph, meaning "he will add".
How many people are called Yosif in the UK?
A total of 28 babies have been registered as Yosif across the 8 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.