Joseph

For other uses, see Joseph (disambiguation).
Joseph

Joseph, son of Jacob
Pronunciation /ˈzɨf/ or /ˈsɨf/
Gender Male
Name day March 19
Origin
Word/name Hebrew
Region of origin Israel
Other names
Related names Joe, Joey, Jojo, John, Josiah, Josias, Josh, Joshua, Jeshua, Jesse, Jess, Joss, Joy, Joyce, Julius, Jules, Jose, Josephus, José, Joseba, Giuseppe, Yoseph, Yusuf, Seph, Seth, Steph, Joan, Joanne, Joanna, Jones, Jonas, Jolyon, Joel, Yoel, Jo, Josie, Josephine, Josephina
Look up Joseph in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

"Joseph" is a masculine given name originating from Hebrew, recorded in the Hebrew Bible, as יוֹסֵף, Standard Hebrew Yossef, Tiberian Hebrew and Aramaic Yôsēp̄. In Arabic, including in the Qur'an, the name is spelled يوسف or Yūsuf. The name can be translated from Hebrew יהוה להוסיף YHWH Lhosif as signifying "The LORD will increase/add".

In the Old Testament, Joseph is Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first (Yossef ben-Yaakov in the Jewish Bible).[1] In the New Testament, Joseph is the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In the New Testament there is another Joseph as well, Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus who supplied the tomb in which Jesus was buried.

The form "Joseph"[2] is used mostly in English, French and German-speaking countries. 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.[3] 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.

Common nicknames

Diminutives of Joseph include Joe and Joey. Others include Joss and Jody.

The feminine form of the name, Josephine, is commonly abbreviated to Jo.

Variations

Variations for males include:[4]

Female forms

People known as Joseph


Biblical figures

Royalty

Other

See also

References

  1. "JACOB, also called Israel". http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/''. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  2. "JOSEPH". jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  3. Frank Nuessel (1992). The Study of Names: A Guide to the Principles and Topics. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 10. Retrieved 11 September 2013.   via Questia (subscription required)
  4. Behind the Name – the Etymology and History of First Names
  5. In Portuguese, Flavius Josephus, the author of the Jewish Antiquities is known as Flávio Josefo.