Josh vs Joshua

Side-by-side comparison of Josh and Joshua - popularity rank, total births, peak decade, and historical trends from Social Security Administration data.

Name A

Josh

Boy name · Rank #1736

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Name B

Joshua

Boy name · Rank #57

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Which name is more popular?

Metric Josh Joshua
Current Rank #1736 #57
Total Births (all years) 17,288 1,248,929
Peak Year 1979 1989
Peak Year Births 531 44,100
Peak Decade 1970s 1980s
Gender Boy Boy
First Recorded Year 1880 1880

Births by Decade

Decade Josh Joshua
1880s 234 465
1890s 209 287
1900s 195 243
1910s 395 926
1920s 439 1,143
1930s 348 948
1940s 361 1,156
1950s 596 2,221
1960s 1,212 5,326
1970s 4,011 140,318
1980s 2,818 396,524
1990s 1,827 329,192
2000s 2,656 232,053
2010s 1,419 106,273
2020s 568 31,854

Recent Annual Births (2014–present)

Year Josh Joshua
2014 166 10,929
2015 123 9,850
2016 108 9,258
2017 129 8,353
2018 113 7,446
2019 103 6,631
2020 94 6,015
2021 100 5,531
2022 94 5,197
2023 89 5,070
2024 95 5,268
2025 96 4,773

Data Sources

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, ssa.gov/oact/babynames.
Source: SSA Annual Name Rankings, 1880–2025.

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