Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Josh?
Births per year, rank history and how many Joshes are alive today.
Josh (male) is a shortened form of the name Joshua. Although Josh itself was given to 45 babies in England and Wales in 2025 (ranked 758th as a registered name), most Joshes are registered as Joshua, which ranked 53rd in 2025 with 938 babies.
Most people called Josh are registered as Joshua, and share that name's profile: the Joshua you are most likely to meet is around 23 years old. Half of all Joshuas born in England and Wales are between 18 and 32, and there are at least 210,000 of them alive today. Only some Joshuas go by Josh.
How many babies are named Josh or Joshua each year?
Combined registrations of Joshua, Josh. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Joshua rank as a registered name?
Where does Josh rank as a registered name?
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
Is Josh short for Joshua?
Yes - Josh is a shortened form of Joshua. Joshes are usually registered as Joshua at birth.
When was the name Josh most popular?
The full name Joshua peaked in 2002, when 8,827 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Josh itself peaked as a registered name in 1994, with 780 babies.
How many people are called Josh?
There's no official count of people who go by Josh, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 210,000 people registered as Joshua born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Josh.
How old is the typical Josh?
Most people called Josh are registered as Joshua. Most living Joshuas are between 18 and 32; the most common age is about 23.
Is Josh becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 2002 peak.