Joseph

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Joseph
Joseph, a figure in the Book of Genesis.
Pronunciation/ˈzɪf, -sɪf/
GenderMale
Name day19 March
Origin
Word/nameHebrew
MeaningJehovah shall add, God will add, taken away or praise, fame taken away
Region of originMiddle East
Other names
Related namesJoe, Joey, Joel, Jojo, Jos, Joss, Josh, John, Jose, Josephus, José, Joseba, Jože, Jāzeps, Dodô, Doido, Joep, Jupp, Posie, Bapi, , Giuseppe, Yosef, Yoseph, Ouseph, Iosif, Peppa, Hovsep, Yusuf, Seph, Sepp, Jo, Josie, Josip, Josif, Josef, József, Pepa, Josephine, Josephina, Increase,Juuso, Joshua, Ġużepp, Ġużè, Żepp, Żeppi

Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef[1] (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used,[2] 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, Yūsuf. In Persian, the name is Yousef, and in Turkish it is Yusuf. In Pashto the name is spelled Esaf (ايسپ) and in Malayalam it is spelled Ousep (ഔസേപ്പ്).

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. In the first century CE, Joseph was the second most popular male name for Israeli Jews.[4]

In the Book of Genesis[5] Joseph is Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first son, and known in the Hebrew Bible as Yossef ben-Yaakov.[6] 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[edit]

The Bible offers two explanations for the origins of the name Yosef: first, it is compared to the word asaf 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 LORD shall add to me another son."[7] 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.[8] The name can also consist of the Hebrew yadah meaning "praise", "fame" and the word asaf.[citation needed]

Variants, diminutives and familiar forms in other languages[edit]

Variations for males include:

  • Afrikaans: Josef, Joesoef
  • Albanian: Jozë (indefinite), Joza (definite), Zef (indefinite), Zefi (definite), Josif (indefinite), Josifi (definite), Isuf (indefinite), Isufi (definite), Bibë (indefinite), Biba (definite), Bep (indefinite), Bepi (definite)
  • Alemmanic: Sepp, Seppu
  • Alsatian: Sepp
  • Amharic: ዮሴፍ (Yosēfi)
  • Aramaic: ܝܰܘܣܶܦ (Yawsef, Yowsef)
  • Armenian: Հովսեփ, Յովսէփ (Hovsep)
  • Arabic: يوسف (Yūsif, Youssef, Yussef, Yousif, Yousef, Youssof, Yūsuf)
  • Arpitan: Dzozè
  • Azerbaijani: Yusif, Yusuf, Usub
  • Basque: Joseba, Josepe
  • Bavarian: Sepp, Bepperl, Beppe, Beppi,
  • Belarusian: Іосіф (Iosif), Язэп (Jazep)
  • Bengali: ইউসুফ (Iusuf or Yusuf) (Islamic), জোসেফ (Josef) (Christian)
  • Bosnian: Josip, Jusuf
  • Breton: Jozef, Jozeb
  • Bulgarian: Йосиф (Yosif)
  • Burmese (Myanmar): ယောသပ်သည် (Yaw sautsai)
  • Cantonese: 約瑟 (Joek3 sat1)
  • Catalan: Josep, Pep (shortened form), Jep (an alternative shortened form)
  • Circassian: Юсыф (Yusyf)
  • Cornish: Josep
  • Corsican: Ghjaseppu, Ghjiseppu
  • Croatian: Josip, Joso, Jozo, Joza, Joze, Joško, Joža, Jože, Bepo, Bepi, Bapi, Pino, Osíp, Bozo, Gonzo, Ganso
  • Czech: Josef; Diminutives: Pepa, Peppa, Pepík, Pepik, Jožka, Pepan, Pepča, Pepek, Pepino, Jožin
  • Danish: Josef
  • Dutch: Jozef, Josephus; Diminutives: Joep, Joost, Jos, Jo, Jef, Seppe
  • English: Joseph, Diminutives: Joe, Joey
  • Esperanto: Jozefo
  • Estonian: Joosep, Joosu
  • Faroese: Jósef
  • Fijian: Josefa
  • Filipino: Joseph, José, Pepe, Peping, Sep, Jojo
  • Finnish: Jooseppi, Juuso
  • French: José, Joseph, Jojo
  • Friulian: Josef, 'Sef, 'Sefin, 'Sefut, Bepi, Bepo, Beput
  • Galician: Xosé
  • Georgian: იოსებ (Ioseb), სოსო (Soso)
  • German: Josef, Joseph; Jupp (familiar); Sepp, Seppl or Pepi (familiar or diminutive forms, particularly in South Germany and Austria)
  • Greek: Ιωσήφ (Iosif), Ιώσηπος (Iosipos), Σήφης (Sifis) (local in Crete)
  • Gujarati: જોસેફ (Jōsēfa)
  • Hawaiian: Iokepa
  • Hebrew: יוסף (Yosef), יוסי (Yossi) (diminutive)
  • Hiligaynon: José, Josef, Josep (rare)
  • Hindi: यूसुफ (Yūsuf)
  • Hungarian: József, Jóska, Józsi (diminutive)
  • Icelandic: Jósef, Jói
  • Igbo: Yôsēp̄, Yossef, Josef
  • Indonesian: Yoseph, Yosep, Yusuf, Yosef, Yusup, Jusuf, Joesoef, Josef, Joseph
  • Interlingua: Joseph
  • Italian: Giuseppe, Giù, Beppe, Peppe, Peppino, Pepino, Pino, Bepi, Beppo, Pippo, Puccio, Gioseffo, Gio or Giò
  • Irish: Seosamh, Iósaf
  • Japanese: ヨセフ (Yosefu), ジョセフ (Josefu)
  • Kambaata: Yeseffe, Yese, Josse, Jossy
  • Kannada: ಜೋಸೆಫ್ (Jōseph)
  • Kashmiri: یوٗسف (Yūsuf)
  • Kazakh: Yusuf, Jusip
  • Khmer: យ៉ូសែប (Yousaep)
  • Korean: 요셉 (Yosep), 조셉 (Josep)
  • Kyrgyz: Жусуп (Jusup)
  • Latin: Iōsēph, Iōsēphus
  • Latvian: Jāzeps, Jozefs, Josefs, Josifs, Džozefs, Žozefs, Jusufs, Jozis, Zeps, Seps
  • Limburgish: Joep, Sef
  • Lithuanian: Juozapas, Juozas (shorter form), Juzas, Juzė (diminutive), Justas
  • Lombard: Usèp, Jusèp, Bèp
  • Macedonian: Јосиф (J̌osif)
  • Malayalam: ജോസപ്പ് (Josapp) or ജോസപ്പൻ (Josappan), ഔസേപ്പ് (Ousepp), യോസേപ്പ് (Yosepp), കൊച്ചാപ്പു (Kochaappu), ഈപ്പൻ (Eeppan), ജോസഫ് (Jōsaph)
  • Malaysian: Yusuf, Yusop, Yusoff, Jusoh, Eusoff, Usop
  • Manado Malay: Josef, Yosef, Oce'
  • Maltese: Ġużeppi, Ġużi, Ġuż, Ġużè, Peppi, Peppu, Peppinu, Pepp, Peppa, Pepa, Żeppi, Żeppu, Żepp
  • Mandarin: simplified Chinese: 约瑟; traditional Chinese: 約瑟; pinyin: (Yuēsè), simplified Chinese: 约瑟夫; traditional Chinese: 約瑟夫; pinyin: (Yuēsèfū), Chinese: 玉素甫; pinyin: Yùsùfǔ, Zho-Zi-Fu
  • Marathi: योसेफ (Jōsēfa)
  • Māori: Hohepa
  • Mongolian: Иосеф (Iosyef)
  • Nepali: यूसुफ (Yūsupha)
  • Norwegian: Josef
  • Occitan: Josèp
  • Persian: يوسف (Youssef, Yūsuf, Yussef)
  • Polish: Józef, Józek (diminutive), Józio (diminutive)
  • Portuguese: José, Josefo, Joséf; diminutive forms: Zé, Zeca, Zezé
  • Provençal: Jóusè
  • Punjabi: ਯੂਸੁਫ਼ (Yūsufa)
  • Quechua: Husiy
  • Romanian: Iosif, Iosub
  • Romansch: Giusep, Gisep, Giusi, Sepp
  • Russian: Иосиф (Iosif), Осип (Osip), Пеппа (Peppa)
  • Samoan: Iosefa, Sefa
  • Sardinian: Josepe, Zosepe, Gisepu
  • Scottish Gaelic: Seòsaidh, Eòsaph, Iòsaph
  • Serbian: Јосиф (Josif), Јосеф (Josef), Јозеф (Jozef)
  • Sepedi: Josefa
  • Sicilian: Giuseppi
  • Silesian: Zefel, Zeflik (diminutive)
  • Sinhala: ජුසේ (Juse), ජෝසේෆ් (Jōsēf)
  • Slovak: Jozef, Jožo, Dodo, Ďoďo, Dodô, Doido
  • Slovene: Jožef, Jože
  • Somali: يوسف (Yuusuf)
  • Spanish: José; hypocoristic versions: Pepe, Chepe, Che, Cheo, Chelo
  • Sundanese: Yusup, Yosep
  • Swahili: Yusuph, Yusufu, Yosefu
  • Swedish: Josef
  • Sylheti: য়ুসুফ (Yusuf)
  • Syriac: ܝܘܣܦ (Yosip, Yausef, Ossi)
  • Tagalog: Jose, Pepe, Peping
  • Tamil: சூசை (sūsai), யோசேப்பு (yōcēppu)
  • Tajik: Юсуф (Yusuf)
  • Telugu: యోసేపు (Yōsepu)
  • Thai: โจเซฟ (Co sef, Josef)
  • Tongan: Siosefa
  • Turkish: Yusuf
  • Turkmen: Yusup
  • Ukrainian: Йосип (Josyp), Осип (Osyp)
  • Urdu: يوسف (Yūsuf)
  • Uzbek: Yusuf
  • Valencian: Josep
  • Venetian: Juxepe, Bepi, Bepin, Bapi
  • Vietnamese: Giu-se or Giô-xếp or Yuse or Giô-sép
  • Vilamovian: Juza
  • Welsh: Ioseff (or, less commonly, Iosep)
  • Yiddish: Yissl, Yussel, Jayzl
  • Yoruba: Josefu, Yusufu
  • Shona: Joze, Joza
  • Zulu: uJosef

Female forms[edit]

People[edit]

Biblical figures[edit]

Royalty[edit]

Politics[edit]

Arts and entertainment[edit]

Sports[edit]

Religion[edit]

Scholars[edit]

Inventors[edit]

Criminals[edit]

Other[edit]

Fictional characters[edit]

  • Joseph Desaulniers, a hunter in the video game Identity V
  • Joseph Goldberg, main character in the Netflix series You
  • Joseph Joestar (ジョセフ・ジョースター), the main protagonist of Battle Tendency in the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
  • Joseph Seed, a recurring character in the Far Cry video game franchise
  • Joseph Wilford, the main antagonist in the Netflix series Snowpiercer

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "JOSEPH". jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015. "like all other Hebrew names beginning with the syllable "Jo," it has Yhwh as its first element"
  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.[ISBN missing]
  4. ^ Ilan, Tal (2002) Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity: Israel 330 BCE–200 CE (Texts & Studies in Ancient Judaism, 91), Coronet Books, pp. 56–57; Hachili, R. "Hebrew Names, Personal Names, Family Names and Nicknames of Jews in the Second Temple Period," in J. W. van Henten and A. Brenner, eds., Families and Family Relations as Represented in Early Judaism and Early Christianity (STAR 2; Leiden:Deo, 2000), pp. 113–115 (note: Hachili placed Joseph in the third place after Yohanan based on narrower basis on data than Ilan's, whereas Bauckham's calculation, based on Ilan's data, places Joseph at the second place); Bauckham, Richard (2017). Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (2nd ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 68–72. ISBN 9780802874313. Quote (p. 71): 15.6% of men bore one of the two most popular male names, Simon and Joseph; (p. 72): for the Gospels and Acts... 18.2% of men bore one of the two most popular male names, Simon and Joseph.
  5. ^ Genesis 30:24
  6. ^ "JACOB, also called Israel". JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. ^ Friedman, R. E., The Bible with Sources Revealed (2003), p. 80
  8. ^ "JOSEPH". The Jewish Encyclopedia. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015. "like all other Hebrew names beginning with the syllable 'Jo,' it has Yhwh as its first element".