Thirty years of Joseph
Joseph in numbers
Joseph peaked in 1996 with 6,193 boys and has fallen since, to 811 in 2025. Its biggest three-year fall came between 2004 and 2007, from 5,030 to 3,871. It ranked 8th in 1996, reached 7th in 2000 and ranks 59th now. On average it was given to 5,822 boys a year in the late 1990s, 4,609 in the 2000s, 2,704 in the 2010s and 1,109 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Similar spellings in the 2025 list†: Josef (14), Joseff (3). Matched by their letters, not by meaning or origin. ONS counts each spelling separately, so these are not added to Joseph.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-14%946 to 811
- 5 years-44%1,437 to 811
- 10 years-71%2,786 to 811
- 20 years-82%4,523 to 811
- Since 1996-87%6,193 to 811
- Total, 1996 to 2025103,070boys
† All changes and totals are Baby Data calculations from ONS counts. A total adds only the published years.
Across the three nations, 2025
Each from its own statistics office, never added togetherRank 59 · ONS · 946 in 2024
Rank 65 · NRS · 63 in 2024
Rank 54 · NISRA · 53 in 2024
England and Wales (ONS) count births in the calendar year; Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland (NISRA) count births registered in the year. Each comes from its own statistics office and they are never added together.
Year by year, 1996 to 2025 Show all 30 yearsHide the table
| Year | Rank | Babies | Change† | 1 in X† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | =59 | 811 | -14% | 1 in 371 |
| 2024 | 56 | 946 | -5% | 1 in 322 |
| 2023 | 54 | 994 | -14% | 1 in 305 |
| 2022 | 50 | 1,158 | -11% | 1 in 268 |
| 2021 | 46 | 1,307 | -9% | 1 in 245 |
| 2020 | 38 | 1,437 | -14% | 1 in 219 |
| 2019 | =34 | 1,678 | -16% | 1 in 196 |
| 2018 | 27 | 1,989 | -8% | 1 in 170 |
| 2017 | 28 | 2,153 | -14% | 1 in 162 |
| 2016 * | 22 | 2,506 | -10% | 1 in 142 |
| 2015 | 21 | 2,786 | -8% | 1 in 129 |
| 2014 | 19 | 3,041 | -6% | 1 in 117 |
| 2013 | 19 | 3,225 | +5% | 1 in 111 |
| 2012 | 22 | 3,074 | -0% | 1 in 122 |
| 2011 | 18 | 3,089 | -12% | 1 in 120 |
| 2010 | 15 | 3,496 | -3% | 1 in 106 |
| 2009 | 14 | 3,613 | -4% | 1 in 100 |
| 2008 | 13 | 3,764 | -3% | 1 in 96 |
| 2007 | 13 | 3,871 | -10% | 1 in 92 |
| 2006 | 11 | 4,279 | -5% | 1 in 80 |
| 2005 | 10 | 4,523 | -10% | 1 in 73 |
| 2004 | 10 | 5,030 | +4% | 1 in 65 |
| 2003 | 10 | 4,828 | -4% | 1 in 66 |
| 2002 | 8 | 5,051 | -4% | 1 in 61 |
| 2001 | 8 | 5,256 | -11% | 1 in 58 |
| 2000 | 7 | 5,877 | +0% | 1 in 53 |
| 1999 | 8 | 5,875 | +9% | 1 in 54 |
| 1998 | 9 | 5,411 | -7% | 1 in 60 |
| 1997 | 8 | 5,809 | -6% | 1 in 57 |
| 1996 | 8 | 6,193 | 1 in 54 |
* ONS’s boys’ 2016 file repeats the October total as September, so the 2016 births total is about 932 too low and 1 in X for 2016 is slightly too low. Rank follows ONS: names with the same count share a rank (shown with =). “Under 3” means the name was given to fewer than 3 babies that year, so ONS did not publish it.
Compare Joseph
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Joseph is in the free dataset (CSV and JSON), with the method and how to cite it.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; National Records of Scotland; NISRA. Exact spellings are counted separately and names given to fewer than 3 babies are not published. Figures marked † are Baby Data calculations. How we calculate