The many forms of Joseph

Once considered “too Jewish” for most Christians to use, the name Joseph has been a popular mainstay since the late Middle Ages, when Saint Joseph’s star rose. It first caught on among a wider audience in Spain and Italy, and it became more popular in England after the Protestant Reformation. In the Jewish world, it calls to mind the Biblical Yosef, favourite son of Jakob, and in the Christian world, it calls to mind the father of Jesus.

Joseph was on the Top 10 in the U.S. from 1880–1934, and then dropped into the Top 20. It rose and fell slightly over the ensuing decades, with its lowest rank being #22 in 2011. In 2015, it was #21. The name has also enjoyed much popularity in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Ireland and Northern Ireland, and New Zealand. The spelling Josef was once quite popular in Switzerland, and is currently enjoying a #26 rank in the Czech Republic and #48 in Sweden.

The spelling Joseph is English and French. Other versions include:

1. Josef is German, Czech, and Scandinavian. German nicknames include Sepp and Seppel, and Czech nicknames include Pepa, Pepík, Pepíček, Jožka, Joska, and Jožánek.

2. Józef is Polish. The nickname is Józek. The alternate version Jožef is Slovenian, with the nickname Jože. Another alternate version, Jozef without any diacritical marks, is Slovak and Dutch. The Dutch nicknames include Sjef, Zef, Jos, Jef, Joep, Joop, Joos, and Joost.

3. József is Hungarian. Nicknames include Jóska and Józsi.

4. Josif is Serbian and Macedonian.

5. Joosep is Estonian.

6. Juozapas is Lithuanian. The nickname is Juozas.

7. Jāzeps is Latvian.

8. Jozefo is Esperanto. The nickname is Joĉjo.

9. Josèp is Occitan. Josep, without any diacritical marks, is Catalan.

10. Josip is Slovenian and Croatian. The Croatian nicknames are Joško, Joso, and Jozo, and the Slovenian nickname is once again Jože.

11. Jooseppi is Finnish. The nickname is Juuso.

12. Iosif is Russian, Romanian, and Greek. One of the Russian nicknames is Osya.

13. Ioseb is Georgian, with the nickname Soso. This was Stalin’s real name.

14. José is Spanish and Portuguese. Spanish nicknames are Pepe, Pepo, and Pepito, and Portuguese nicknames are Zé and Zezé.

15. Xosé is Galician.

16. Joseba is Basque.

17. Josepe is an alternate Basque form.

18. Giuseppe is Italian, with the nicknames Beppe, Peppe, Peppi, Pino, and Peppino.

19. Yosef is Hebrew.

20. Osip is an alternate Russian form, also with the nickname Osya.

21. Yusuf is Arabic and Turkish.

22. Yusef is another Arabic form.

23. Yousef is another way to transliterate the Arabic form of Joseph.

24. Hovsep is Armenian.

25. Yusif is Azeri.

26. Yosif is Bulgarian.

27. Hohepa is Maori.

28. Yusup is Uyghur, a Turkic language spoken in China.

29. Yosyp is Ukrainian.

30. Yussel is Yiddish.

31. Seòsaidh is Scottish.

32. Seosamh is Irish.

33. Ghjaseppu is Corsican.

34. Ġużeppi is Maltese.

35. Iokepa is Hawaiian.

36. Iosefo is Samoan.

37. Ipe is Malayalam, a language spoken in India.

38. Jisepu is Sardinian.

39. Jósepr is Old Norse.

40. Joskin is a Medieval English nickname.

41. Juza is Vilamovian, a Germanic language spoken in Poland.

42. Osi is Nenets, a native Siberian language.

43. Outha is an alternate Malayalam form.

44. Ouseph is also Malayalam.

45. Seppi is Alsatian.

46. Sifa is Tongan.

47. Sifis is a variation found on Crete.

48. Simprofié is Romani.

49. Yisap is Chuvash, a native Siberian language.

50. Yosip is Assyrian.

51. Yosop is Bashkir, a Turkic language spoken in Russia.

52. Yosyf is Tatar.

53. Yusup is Turkmeni.

54. Yusupha is Sanskrit and Hindi.

55. Yuusuf is Somali.

56. Jâosé is Jèrriais. The nickname is Jâoséphin.

57. Yazep is Belarusian.

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