Joshua
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew. From Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshúa'), perhaps from הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hoshéa') with addition of יהוה (YHWH, “Yahweh”), thus meaning "Yahweh is salvation". See הוֹשִׁיעַ (hoshía', “to save”). By cognate a direct equivalent to Jesus via Latin Iēsūs and Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs) from Aramaic יֵשׁוּע (Yēšū́ʿ), akin to Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshúa'), a variant of Yehoshúa'.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Joshua (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Joshua has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2007. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 17 |
| 1999 | 20 |
| 2000 | 22 |
| 2001 | 26 |
| 2002 | 27 |
| 2003 | 19 |
| 2004 | 17 |
| 2005 | 28 |
| 2006 | 26 |
| 2007 | 32 |
| 2008 | 29 |
| 2009 | 21 |
| 2010 | 26 |
| 2011 | 24 |
| 2012 | 22 |
| 2013 | 32 |
| 2014 | 29 |
| 2015 | 24 |
| 2016 | 29 |
| 2017 | 19 |
| 2018 | 22 |
| 2019 | 19 |
| 2020 | 22 |
| 2021 | 22 |
| 2022 | 25 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 190 |
| 2000 | 208 |
| 2001 | 240 |
| 2002 | 263 |
| 2003 | 287 |
| 2004 | 314 |
| 2005 | 356 |
| 2006 | 383 |
| 2007 | 424 |
| 2008 | 464 |
| 2009 | 490 |
| 2010 | 534 |
| 2011 | 574 |
| 2012 | 611 |
| 2013 | 663 |
| 2014 | 708 |
| 2015 | 735 |
| 2016 | 786 |
| 2017 | 833 |
| 2018 | 901 |
| 2019 | 950 |
| 2020 | 985 |
Joshua in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Joshua.Hi! My name is Joshua.
- Joshua ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Joshua called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Joshua i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Joshua this afternoon.
- Joshuas mamma är lärare.Joshua's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Joshuas mamma is Joshua's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Joshua
How do you pronounce Joshua in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Joshua in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Joshua mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew. From Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshúa'), perhaps from הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hoshéa') with addition of יהוה (YHWH, “Yahweh”), thus meaning "Yahweh is salvation". See הוֹשִׁיעַ (hoshía', “to save”). By cognate a direct equivalent to Jesus via Latin Iēsūs and Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs) from Aramaic יֵשׁוּע (Yēšū́ʿ), akin to Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshúa'), a variant of Yehoshúa'.
How popular is Joshua in Sweden?
25 babies were named Joshua in 2022. In 2020, 985 people in Sweden had Joshua as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2007 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.