NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Yossef

A masculine given name of Hebrew origin meaning "He will add".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2022. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Yossef is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Yossef popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2022 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4001, with 4 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2022, with 4 births.

This profile covers 10 England and Wales registrations across 3 recorded years from 2005 to 2022. 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.

Yossef is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.

We estimate that about 10 living people in the UK are called Yossef. 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 2023 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Yossef ranked #4001 for boys in England and Wales in 2022, with 4 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2022, when 4 boys were registered as Yossef.
  • About 10 living people in the UK are estimated to have Yossef as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#4001

2022

Births in 2022

4

Latest year

Peak year

2022

4 births

Estimated living

10

2026

Meaning

What does Yossef mean?

The name Yossef is a Hebrew name derived from the biblical Hebrew word "yasaf," which means "to add" or "to increase." It is the original Hebrew form of the English name Joseph.

The name Yossef has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture and can be traced back to the biblical figure of Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel. In the Book of Genesis, Joseph is portrayed as a dreamer and interpreter of dreams, who rose to become a powerful figure in ancient Egypt.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yossef can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where Joseph, the son of Jacob, is a central figure. The name appears throughout the Book of Genesis, as well as in other books of the Hebrew Bible.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yossef. One of the most famous was Yossef ben Matityahu, better known as Flavius Josephus (37-100 CE), a Jewish historian who wrote extensively about the Jewish revolt against Rome.

Another notable Yossef was Yossef Caro (1488-1575), a renowned Jewish scholar and author of the Shulchan Aruch, a widely respected code of Jewish law.

In the Islamic tradition, the name Yossef is also significant, as it is the Arabic form of the name Joseph. One of the most influential figures with this name was Yusuf ibn Ayyub, better known as Saladin (1137-1193), the famous Kurdish Muslim sultan who led the Muslim forces against the Crusaders in the 12th century.

The name Yossef has also been borne by several modern figures, such as Yossef Yerushalmi (1932-2009), an Israeli historian and scholar of Jewish history, and Yossef Akiva (1901-1937), a Jewish author and activist in Mandatory Palestine.

In addition to these notable individuals, the name Yossef has been popular among Jewish and Arabic communities throughout history, and it continues to be a popular name in various parts of the world today.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Yossef over time

The chart below shows babies named Yossef registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2005 to 2022. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Yossef, the clearest high point is 2022. The latest England and Wales figure is 4 births in 2022, compared with 4 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Yossef
01234200520132022

Decades

Yossef by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Yossef 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 #4001 4 1
2000s #3951 6 2

Related

Names similar to Yossef

FAQ

Yossef: questions and answers

How popular is the name Yossef in the UK right now?

In 2022, Yossef was ranked #4001 for boys in England and Wales, with 4 births registered.

When was Yossef most popular?

The peak year on record was 2022, with 4 babies registered as Yossef in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Yossef?

A masculine given name of Hebrew origin meaning "He will add".

How many people are called Yossef in the UK?

A total of 10 babies have been registered as Yossef across the 3 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.