Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew. "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic countries. In Portuguese and Spanish, the name is "José". In Arabic, including in the Quran, the name is spelled يوسف,. In Kurdish (Kurdî), the name is, Persian, the name is , and in Turkish it is. In Pashto the name is spelled Esaf (ايسپ) and in Malayalam it is spelled Ousep (ഔസേപ്പ്). In Tamil, it is spelled as "Yosepu"(யோசேப்பு) 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. In the first century CE, Joseph was the second most popular male name for Israeli Jews. In the Book of Genesis Joseph is Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first son, and known in the Hebrew Bible as Yossef ben-Yaakov. In the New Testament the most notable two are Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus; and Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus who supplied the tomb in which Jesus was buried.

Etymology

The Bible offers two explanations for the origins of the name Yosef: first, it is compared to the word from the root /'sp/, taken away: "And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach"; Yosef is then identified with the similar root /ysp/, meaning add: "And she called his name Joseph; and said, The shall add to me another son." The Jewish Encyclopedia says that it is a theophoric name referencing the Tetragrammaton, and in fact his name is spelled Jehoseph, with the theophoric first syllable 'Jeho' , once in Psalms. The name can also consist of the Hebrew yadah meaning "praise", "fame" and the word asaf.

Variants, diminutives and familiar forms in other languages

Variations for males include:

Female forms

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