Head to head · Boys' names
Mauricio vs Yosef
#663 vs #663 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Mauricio 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
On the charts, Mauricio leads 3 measures of 6; Yosef leads 1.
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: Mauricio #984, Yosef — — Mauricio higher
- 1910s: Mauricio #2775, Yosef — — Mauricio higher
- 1920s: Mauricio #2432, Yosef — — Mauricio higher
- 1930s: Mauricio #2275, Yosef — — Mauricio higher
- 1940s: Mauricio #1992, Yosef — — Mauricio higher
- 1950s: Mauricio #1644, Yosef #2994 — Mauricio higher
- 1960s: Mauricio #950, Yosef #2855 — Mauricio higher
- 1970s: Mauricio #707, Yosef #1570 — Mauricio higher
- 1980s: Mauricio #621, Yosef #1158 — Mauricio higher
- 1990s: Mauricio #505, Yosef #1064 — Mauricio higher
- 2000s: Mauricio #375, Yosef #863 — Mauricio higher
- 2010s: Mauricio #533, Yosef #698 — Mauricio higher
- 2020s: Mauricio #658, Yosef #646 — Yosef higher
Mauricio stood higher in 12 of 13 decades; Yosef took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mauricio | Yosef |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #984 | — |
| 1910s | #2775 | — |
| 1920s | #2432 | — |
| 1930s | #2275 | — |
| 1940s | #1992 | — |
| 1950s | #1644 | #2994 |
| 1960s | #950 | #2855 |
| 1970s | #707 | #1570 |
| 1980s | #621 | #1158 |
| 1990s | #505 | #1064 |
| 2000s | #375 | #863 |
| 2010s | #533 | #698 |
| 2020s | #658 | #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
Mauricio
Moorish, from Mauretania
The root is the Latin cognomen Maurus, used of someone from Mauretania in northwest Africa; it came to be read as 'dark-skinned'. The extended form Mauritius gave Maurice, Maurizio and Mauricio.
Maurus → Mauritius → Maurice → Mauricio
How it traveled
The Latin name Mauritius grew out of Maurus, a Roman byname marking someone as a Moor, from Mauretania in northwest Africa. It spread through Christian Europe with Saint Maurice, the Roman officer venerated as leader of the Theban Legion, whose shrine in the Swiss Alps gave the town of Saint-Maurice its name and whose cult made him a patron of soldiers across the medieval West.
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
Mauricio
mow-REE-see-oh
Four syllables, stress on the second. In Spanish the first syllable rhymes with 'now' and the c is a clean s; English speakers often shift it toward 'maw-REE-see-oh', which most bearers accept without fuss.
- Mau — The usual affectionate clip in Spanish-speaking families; informal, rarely written on documents.
- Mauri — Common short form in Spanish and Portuguese, used among friends and by older relatives alike.
- Mauro — Sometimes used as a short form, though it is also a full given name in its own right, straight from the same Latin root Maurus.
- Moe — Turns up in English-speaking settings, shared with Maurice and Moses; informal only.
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 Mauricio if you want…
- a name holding steadyMauricio is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itMauricio runs 4 syllables, Yosef 2
Choose Yosef if you want…
- a name on the way upup 15 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesYosef is 2 syllables to Mauricio's 4
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
Mauricio
Strengths
- Recognized on sight across Spanish, Portuguese and Italian-speaking countries, and instantly linkable to Maurice for English speakers.
- One spelling dominates in Spanish, so it is written the same way in Mexico City, Madrid and Miami.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Mau, Mauri — that families have used for generations.
To consider
- In English-only settings the first syllable often gets flattened to 'maw', and some people will reach for Maurice or Morris instead. Most bearers end up deciding early which correction is worth making.
- Four syllables is a lot next to a short surname, and the -cio ending gets misspelled as -tio or -sio by people hearing it for the first time.
- The Portuguese spelling carries an accent, Maurício, which US forms and databases tend to drop.
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 Mauricio 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 Mauricio 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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Four-syllable names that carry
- Eight-letter names with presence
- Quiet perennials: a century old, never popular
- Names that begin and end with the same letter
- all guides
Where Mauricio and Yosef each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mauricio or Yosef — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mauricio or Yosef?
- They tie in 2025: Mauricio ranked #663 with 413 babies; Yosef ranked #663 with 413 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mauricio or Yosef?
- Yosef. Over the last five years Mauricio moved down 32 places; Yosef moved up 15 places.
- Which is the older name, Mauricio or Yosef?
- Mauricio entered the US charts in 1885; Yosef entered the US charts in 1951. On the American record, Mauricio is the older name.
- How many people are named Mauricio and Yosef?
- About 23,000 people named Mauricio 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 Mauricios or Yosefs in the classroom?
- Mauricio 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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Mauricio, Yosef and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap