Joshua vs Jossie
American parents have registered 1,253,882 Joshuas since 1880, against 2,051 Jossies. Joshua is still ahead, with 4,773 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Joshua Jossie
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 146 years in which either name was published, Joshua for 144 years and Jossie for 2 years. The lead changed hands 4 times.
Side by side
| Joshua | Jossie | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,253,882 | 2,051 |
| Most in one year | 44,308 | 45 |
| Babies in 2025 | 4,773 | 6 |
| Estimated living today | 1.2 million | 780 |
| Median age today | 33 | 34 |
| Peak year | 1989 | 1926 |
| Best rank | 4th boys | 1,133rd girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 66th | 13,208th |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1880 |
| Girls / boys | 4,953 / 1,248,929 | 2,034 / 17 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Where each one is strongest
- Joshua Alaska (1.9×), Nevada (1.7×), Wyoming (1.5×)
- Jossie Mississippi (29.5×), Alabama (4.6×), Georgia (4.1×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Joshua and Jossie.