Josiel
A masculine name of uncertain etymological origin, possibly deriving from Hebrew roots signifying "God raises".
Name Census estimates that about 566 living Americans carry the first name Josiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Josiel today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Josiel births was 2022 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Josiel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
566
~ 1 in 605,573 Americans
Peak year
2022
49 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,351
Tracked since 1993
Census
Josiel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 529 people with the first name Josiel, which placed it at #19,808 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,808
National first-name rank
People counted
529
529 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
89.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Josiel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josiel is Hispanic at 89.6%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Black (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Josiel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Josiel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.6% · 474
- White7.0% · 37
- Black or African American2.5% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Josiel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Josiel from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 243 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Josiel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Josiel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Josiels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Florida, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Josiel, while Pennsylvania, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Josiel
The name Josiel has its origins in Hebrew, with its roots tracing back to the ancient Israelite culture. It is a combination of two Hebrew words, "Yah" and "El," which respectively mean "God" and "mighty." Thus, Josiel can be interpreted as "God is mighty" or "Mighty is God."
The earliest recorded instance of the name Josiel can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible, specifically in the Book of Ezra. It is mentioned as the name of a Levite who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity. This reference dates back to the 5th century BCE, indicating the antiquity of the name's usage.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Josiel. One of the earliest was Josiel ben Judah, a 12th-century Spanish Jewish philosopher and scholar. His works significantly influenced medieval Jewish thought and contributed to the development of Kabbalah.
In the 16th century, Josiel Semah was a prominent rabbi and Kabbalist from Italy. He authored several influential works on Jewish mysticism and is remembered for his contributions to the study of the Zohar, a central text of Kabbalah.
Moving forward in time, Josiel Vokins (1623-1689) was an English nonconformist minister and author. He played a significant role in the religious dissent movement during the 17th century and published several works defending the rights of non-conformists.
In the 19th century, Josiel Rufinus Barnes (1829-1902) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio and was known for his advocacy of civil rights and anti-slavery efforts.
More recently, Josiel Núñez (1931-2015) was a renowned Venezuelan writer and journalist. He authored several novels, short stories, and essays, and was recognized for his contributions to Latin American literature with various awards and accolades.
While the name Josiel has ancient Hebrew roots and biblical references, it has transcended its original cultural boundaries and found usage across different regions and time periods. The individuals mentioned above showcase the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of those who have carried this name throughout history.
People
Josiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Josiel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Josiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Josiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 566 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Josiel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 605,573 US residents.
Is Josiel a common name?
We classify Josiel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 571 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Josiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Josiel was 2022, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Josiel is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Josiel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 529 people with the name Josiel, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,808 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Josiel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Josiel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Josiel leans strongly male. 517 people counted with this name were male (97.4%), compared with 14 female bearers (2.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Josiel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josiel is Hispanic at 89.6%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Black (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Josiel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Josiel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (474 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Josiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Josiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Josiel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Josiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Josiel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Josiel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Josiel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.