Head to head · Boys' names
Creed vs Yosef
#663 vs #663 in 2025
Creed and Yosef share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#663). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Creed and Yosef each lead 2 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Creed #803, Yosef — — Creed higher
- 1890s: Creed #860, Yosef — — Creed higher
- 1900s: Creed #1141, Yosef — — Creed higher
- 1910s: Creed #1670, Yosef — — Creed higher
- 1920s: Creed #1646, Yosef — — Creed higher
- 1930s: Creed #2025, Yosef — — Creed higher
- 1940s: Creed #2092, Yosef — — Creed higher
- 1950s: Creed #2403, Yosef #2994 — Creed higher
- 1960s: Creed #2722, Yosef #2855 — Creed higher
- 1970s: Creed #3299, Yosef #1570 — Yosef higher
- 1980s: Creed #4216, Yosef #1158 — Yosef higher
- 1990s: Creed #3964, Yosef #1064 — Yosef higher
- 2000s: Creed #1875, Yosef #863 — Yosef higher
- 2010s: Creed #1279, Yosef #698 — Yosef higher
- 2020s: Creed #678, Yosef #646 — Yosef higher
Creed stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Yosef has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Creed | Yosef |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #803 | — |
| 1890s | #860 | — |
| 1900s | #1141 | — |
| 1910s | #1670 | — |
| 1920s | #1646 | — |
| 1930s | #2025 | — |
| 1940s | #2092 | — |
| 1950s | #2403 | #2994 |
| 1960s | #2722 | #2855 |
| 1970s | #3299 | #1570 |
| 1980s | #4216 | #1158 |
| 1990s | #3964 | #1064 |
| 2000s | #1875 | #863 |
| 2010s | #1279 | #698 |
| 2020s | #678 | #646 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Creed
belief; a statement of faith
From Latin credo, "I believe" — the first word of the creeds recited in church, which is how the whole formula came to be called by that name.
credo (Latin) → crēda (Old English) → crede (Middle English) → Creed
How it traveled
Latin credo came into Old English as crēda, the label for the recited summary of Christian belief, and shortened through Middle English crede to the modern creed. From the word came the surname, borne by English families and reinforced by the Cornish parish of Creed in the far southwest.
Yosef
"He will add" — that is, may God add another son
The name comes from the Hebrew root yasaf, "to add." Genesis plays on a second root as well: Rachel first says God has taken away her reproach, then names the child with the wish that God add another son. The wordplay is in the text; the derivation from "to add" is the accepted one.
Yosef → Iōsēph → Ioseph → Joseph → Josef
How it traveled
Yosef is the Hebrew original: יוֹסֵף, borne in Genesis by the son of Jacob and Rachel, the one sold into Egypt and later set over Pharaoh's household. When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek, the name became Iōsēph, and Latin carried that spelling into every corner of Christian Europe, where it softened into Joseph, Josef, José, Giuseppe and dozens more.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Creed
KREED
One syllable, rhyming with need. The spelling gives the sound away, so it survives phone calls and roll call intact.
- Cree — The only shortening in any real use, and even that is uncommon; note it coincides with the name of the Cree Nation.
Yosef
yo-SEF
Hebrew puts the stress on the second syllable: yo-SEF. Many American speakers say YO-sef instead, and both are widely heard. The opening Y is a consonant, as in "yes," not the vowel of Josef.
- Yossi — The standard informal short form in Hebrew-speaking usage; also given on its own as a familiar name.
- Yossel — A Yiddish diminutive, long established in Ashkenazi families and heard mostly from older generations.
- Sefi — Informal, clipped from the second syllable; used within families more than outside them.
- Joe — The English short form arriving by way of Joseph; convenient in settings where the full name gets misread.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Creed if you want…
- a name on the way upup 127 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesCreed is 1 syllable to Yosef's 2
- a name that stays wholeone recorded short form for Creed (Cree)
- a long American recordCreed was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Yosef if you want…
- a name holding steadyYosef is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itYosef runs 2 syllables, Creed 1
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Yossi, Yossel and Sefi
- a newer arrivalYosef entered the US charts in 1951
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Creed
Strengths
- One syllable, one obvious spelling, one obvious pronunciation — almost nothing to correct over a lifetime.
- The meaning is carried in a word most English speakers already know, so no explaining is required.
- Fits the long American habit of moving surnames into first position, alongside a whole shelf of familiar-sounding names.
To consider
- It is a religious word, and specifically a Christian one. In some families that is the point; in others, or in a mixed family, it may carry more weight than intended.
- The pop-culture load is real: the rock band Creed, Apollo Creed and the Rocky spin-off films, and Creed Bratton on The Office. Most people will think of one of them first.
- The climb is steep and recent. The rarity that appeals now may not hold through elementary school, and it currently reads as a very young name.
Yosef
Strengths
- Recognized almost anywhere in some form — Joseph, José, Giuseppe, Yusuf — so the name introduces itself even to people who have never seen this spelling.
- A documented history reaching back to the book of Genesis, with no gap in use since.
- An established short form, Yossi, that has been in real use for generations rather than invented on the spot.
To consider
- The most persistent friction is Joseph. Expect forms, teachers and autocorrect to reach for it, along with Josef, Yoseph and Yusuf. Spelling it out will become routine, though the name is short enough that this costs little.
- Stress placement varies — yo-SEF among Hebrew speakers, YO-sef among many American English speakers. Worth deciding early which one your family uses.
- Use is noticeably concentrated in a few states, New York, New Jersey and California among them. Elsewhere a Yosef will likely be the only one in his school, which some children enjoy and some find tiring.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Creed and Yosef in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Creed and Yosef?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Creed or Yosef — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Creed or Yosef?
- They tie in 2025: Creed ranked #663 with 413 babies; Yosef ranked #663 with 413 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Creed or Yosef?
- Creed. Over the last five years Creed moved up 127 places; Yosef moved up 15 places.
- Which is the older name, Creed or Yosef?
- Creed was already in use when US records began in 1880; Yosef entered the US charts in 1951. On the American record, Creed is the older name.
- How many people are named Creed and Yosef?
- About 5,200 people named Creed are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 10,500 people named Yosef are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Creeds or Yosefs in the classroom?
- Creed will almost certainly be the only one in school. Yosef will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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