Joseph

Joseph is a common masculine given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef[1] (יוֹסֵף). The form "Joseph"[2] is used mostly in English, French and partially German-speaking (alongside "Josef") countries. This spelling is also found as a variant in the Nordic countries. In Portuguese and Spanish, the name is "José". In Arabic, including in the Quran, the name is spelled يوسف Yūsuf. In Persian, the name is "Yousef".

The name has enjoyed significant popularity in its many forms in numerous countries, and Joseph was one of the two names, along with Robert, to have remained in the top 10 boys' names list in the US from 1925 to 1972.[3] It is especially common in contemporary Israel, as either "Yossi" or "Yossef", and in Italy, where the name "Giuseppe" was the most common male name in the 20th century. In the first century CE, Joseph was the second most popular male name for Palestine Jews.[4]

In the Book of Genesis[5] Joseph is Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first son, and known in the Hebrew Bible as Yossef ben-Yaakov.[6] In the New Testament the most notable two are Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus; and Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus who supplied the tomb in which Jesus was buried.

The Bible offers two explanations of the name Yosef: first, it is compared to the word asaf from the root /'sp/, "taken away": "And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach"; Yosef is then identified with the similar root /ysp/, meaning "add": "And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son."[7] The Jewish Encyclopedia says that it is a theophoric name referencing YHWH.[8] The name can also consist of the Hebrew yadah meaning "praise", "fame" and the word asaf.[citation needed ]

Variations for males include: