Quick answer
Joshua is a boy name with Hebrew roots meaning "Yahweh is salvation".
Pronunciation: American English /ˈd͡ʒɑʃ.u.ə/; British English /ˈd͡ʒɒʃ.uː.ə/.
Meaning and history
This name comes from the Hebrew name יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshuaʿ) meaning " Yahweh is salvation", from the roots יְהוֹ ( yeho ) referring to the Hebrew God and יָשַׁע ( yashaʿ ) meaning "to save". As told in the Old Testament, Joshua was a companion of Moses. He went up Mount Sinai with Moses when he received the Ten Commandments from God, and later he was one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan. After Moses died Joshua succeeded him as leader of the Israelites and he led the conquest of Canaan. His original name was Hoshea. The name Jesus comes from a Greek transcription of the Aramaic short form יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshuaʿ), which was the real name of Jesus. As an English name, Joshua has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.
20162016: 9,258 births, rank #35
2017: 8,353 births, rank #38
2018: 7,446 births, rank #40
2019: 6,631 births, rank #48
2020: 6,015 births, rank #53
20212021: 5,531 births, rank #58
2022: 5,197 births, rank #60
2023: 5,070 births, rank #60
2024: 5,268 births, rank #57
20252025: 4,773 births, rank #66
Joshua has unusual staying power. It appears in the US records as early as 1880 and still ranks #66 for boys in 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1989, with 44,100 births.
Notes and context
Usage: english, biblical | Ancient Hebrew: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ