Joseph (given name)

Joseph, son of Jacob
Pronunciation	/ˈdʒoʊzᵻf/ or /ˈdʒoʊsᵻf/
Gender	Male
Name day	March 19
Word/name	Hebrew
Region of origin	Palestine
Related names	Joe, Joey, Jojo, John, Josiah, Josias, Josh, Joshua, Jeshua, , , Joss, Joy, Joyce, , Jules, Jose, , José, Joseba, Giuseppe, Yoseph, Yusuf, Seph, Sepp, , Steph, Joan, Joanne, Joanna, Jones, Jonas, Jolyon, Joel, Yoel, Jo, Josie, Josephine, Josephina, Juuso

Joseph is a masculine given name originating from Hebrew, recorded in the Hebrew Bible, as יוֹסֵף, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew and Aramaic Yôsēp̄. The name can be translated from Hebrew יוסף יהוה yosef YHWH as signifying "Yahweh will/shall increase/add".

The name appears already in the book of Genesis:Joseph is Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first son, and known in the Jewish Bible as Yossef ben-Yaakov.

In the New Testament there are two others named Joseph: 1) Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus; and, 2) Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus who supplied the tomb in which Jesus was buried.

The form "Joseph" is used mostly in English, French and German-speaking countries. In Arabic, including in the Qur'an, the name is spelled يوسف or Yūsuf. 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. 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.

Diminutives of Joseph include Joe and Joey. Others include and Jody. The feminine form of the name, Josephine, is commonly abbreviated to Jo.