U.S. first-name statistics

How common is Josh?

Josh was the #448 most frequent first name in the 2020 Census.

People with the first name Josh

125,623

About 1 in 2,638 Americans had this first name in the 2020 Census.

Measured, privacy-protected national Census count—not a total of historical baby-name records.

National rank

#448

More common than 99.2% of listed first names

Peak year

1979

531 SSA-recorded births

2025 births

96

#3,627 across first names

Census frequency

1 in 2,638

Across the 2020 U.S. population

Sex distribution

Reported in the 2020 Census first-name table.

99.8% male0.2% female

Demographic distribution

Aggregated race and Hispanic-origin reporting in the 2020 Census name table.

White, non-Hispanic81.2%
Black, non-Hispanic4.23%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.83%
Asian / Pacific Islander2.63%
Two or more races3.38%
Hispanic or Latino7.77%

Reading the result

Josh across two different records

The Census count answers “how many people had this name?” using a national snapshot of living residents in 2020. The SSA series answers “when was this name popular?” using Social Security card applications associated with births.

Josh reached its highest published annual SSA count in 1979, with 531 recorded births. In 2025, SSA recorded 96 babies with the name.

Names do not determine a person’s identity. Demographic percentages above describe national aggregates and should never be applied to an individual.

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