Yosue
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is salvation".
Name Census estimates that about 16 living Americans carry the first name Yosue. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yosue today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yosue births was 2007 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yosue. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yosue. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
16
~ 1 in 21,422,146 Americans
Peak year
2007
6 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2011 SSA rank
#14,281
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Yosue: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yosue from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Yosue remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yosue 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 Yosue during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yosue
The given name Yosue has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is a variation of the biblical name Yehoshua or Joshua, which derives from the Hebrew words "yeho" meaning "Yahweh" (the name of God) and "shua" meaning "to save" or "to deliver." This name carries the meaning of "Yahweh is salvation" or "the Lord is salvation."
The name Yosue is closely associated with the biblical figure Joshua, the successor of Moses and the leader who led the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan. The Book of Joshua in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible chronicles his life and achievements. Joshua's original Hebrew name was Yehoshua, which was later adapted and transliterated into various forms, including Yosue, in different languages and cultures.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Yosue can be found in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible, where Joshua's name is rendered as "Iosue." This Latin version, produced by Saint Jerome in the late 4th century AD, played a significant role in the spread and adaptation of the name across Europe and other regions influenced by Christianity.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Yosue or its variations. For instance, Yosue Calzadilla (1529-1578) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary known for his work in the Philippines. Another notable figure was Yosue Huerta (1668-1717), a Spanish Franciscan friar and missionary who traveled to the Americas.
Additionally, Yosue Caldera (1837-1905) was a Nicaraguan politician and military leader who served as the 16th President of Nicaragua from 1893 to 1895. Yosue Nuñez (1864-1929) was a Guatemalan lawyer, politician, and writer who served as the 18th President of Guatemala from 1920 to 1921. Lastly, Yosue Salinas (1908-1970) was a Mexican actor and comedian known for his work in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.
While the name Yosue has its roots in ancient Hebrew and biblical traditions, it has been adapted and used across various cultures and languages throughout history, carrying the symbolic meaning of divine salvation and deliverance.
People
Yosue + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yosue as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yosue: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yosue?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yosue 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 21,422,146 US residents.
Is Yosue a common name?
We classify Yosue as "Very Rare". It ranks above 36.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yosue most popular?
The single biggest year for Yosue was 2007, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yosue is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Yosue in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yosue a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yosue 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 Yosue still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yosue 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 Yosue 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Yosue?
Want to know how many people share the name Yosue? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.