Top 60 US name Boys' name Peak 2017 143,338 births

Josiah — #53 US boys' name

143,338 babies named Josiah in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2017. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s1931890s1081900s771910s3081920s2781930s2061940s1651950s1951960s1731970s9451980s44061990s109142000s332552010s630952020s29020
#53
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.6% of names given to boys today.

2010s
Peak decade

44% of everyone ever named Josiah was born in this single decade.

2017
Single peak year

7,073 babies were named Josiah in 2017 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Josiah

The Social Security Administration has registered 143,338 babies named Josiah between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Josiah currently holds the #53 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2017, when 7,073 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Josiah performed strongest in the 2010s, accumulating 63,095 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Josiah shows notable generational variation in parental adoption. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 18,238 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Florida. In total, SSA state-level files list Josiah in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Josiah in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 143,338 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Josiah at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

143,338

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

2017

7,073 births that year

Strongest decade: 2010s

Current rank

#53

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Josiah popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (2017)
7,073
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-2,00002,0004,0006,0008,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 26

Josiah popularity over time — girls

449 total births recorded since 1981 (Josiah as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 449 births
0510152025 20242019201420092004199919941981 7

Josiah by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 2010s
Peak decade
2010s
63,095 births that decade — 44% of Josiah's all-time total
1880s1931890s1081900s771910s3081920s2781930s2061940s1651950s1951960s1731970s9451980s44061990s109142000s332552010s630952020s29020

Josiah by state

Where Josiah concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Josiah
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
18,238 12.7%
#2 Texas
16,163 11.3%
#3 Florida
9,382 6.5%
#4 New York
7,090 4.9%
#5 North Carolina
5,439 3.8%
#6 Georgia
5,227 3.6%
#7 Pennsylvania
4,993 3.5%
#8 Ohio
4,797 3.3%
California share of Josiah's total US births 12.7%
Even split

18,238 of 143,338 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Josiah appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Josiah?
143,338 babies have been named Josiah since 1880. It currently ranks #53 among boys. The peak year was 2017 with 7,073 births.
When was Josiah most popular?
Josiah was most popular in the 2010s decade with 63,095 total births. The single peak year was 2017.
Where is Josiah most popular?
The top states for the name Josiah are California (18,238 births), Texas (16,163 births), Florida (9,382 births).
How long has the name Josiah been used?
Josiah has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Josiah?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Joseph, Joshua, Jose, Josue, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Josiah

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.