Joseph

"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 "JEHOVAH will increase/add".

In the Old Testament, Joseph is Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first (Yossef ben-Yaakov in the Jewish Bible). 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" 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. 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.