Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Josh?
Births per year, rank history and how many Joshes are alive today.
Josh (male), once a common boys' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 758th in 2025 with 45 given the name. The name peaked in 1994, when around 780 babies were given the name, the 81st most popular that year. It has declined since 1994; the 2025 figure is roughly 6% of its peak. Numbers have been falling in recent years. At least 14,000 babies have been named Josh in England and Wales since the 1980s. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Common short forms of Josh include Joss. Josh is also a common short form of Joshua, so many people called Josh are registered under the longer name.
The Josh you are most likely to meet is around 32 years old. Half of all Joshes born in England and Wales are between 20 and 32, and there are at least 14,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 4.5% chance that at least one of them will be called Josh.
How many babies are named Josh each year?
Where does Josh rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Josh most popular?
Josh peaked in 1994, when around 780 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Josh?
At least 14,000 people named Josh born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Josh?
Most living Joshes are between 20 and 32; the most common age is about 32.
Is Josh becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1994 peak.