A male name. Hebrew ‘increaser’; the Greek form was Joses. The name was a favourite in post-exilic Israel; in the New Testament, for instance, there are Joseph of Nazareth the husband of the Blessed Virgin, Joseph of Arimathea, Joses brother of James, and Joses surnamed Barnabas. The early use of it as a christian name, however, was probably with reference to the patriarch (cf. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob). It occurs once or twice before the Norman Conquest as the name of a cleric, and during the Middle Ages it was in regular though infrequent use, cf. the surnames Joseph, Josephs, Jessop, Jessopp, Jessup, Jessupp. The pronunciation Jessop may have been influenced by the Italian Giuseppe, introduced by Italian Jews, for there is evidence that many of the medieval Josephs were Jews. The general and widespread use of the name dates only from the 17th C. In England it shared in the popularity of all Biblical names (the eponym in this case being the patriarch); and in Roman Catholic countries its use was enormously increased by the growing devotion to St Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin. Until 1624 he had had no festival dedicated to him. In Italy and Spain particularly, Giuseppe (nickname Beppo) and José (nickname Pepe, Pepito) became very common. The usual English nickname is Joe.

Josephus Domesday Book 1086, Curia Regis Rolls 1203-1321, Hundred Rolls 1273. Josep Hundred Rolls 1273.