Joshawa
Masculine · “the Lord is salvation”
Joshawa is Joshua written the way it sounds in many mouths, with the w that slips in between the u and the final a. It keeps Joshua's meaning and history and adds none of its own.
How old is the name Joshawa?
Joshawa first appears in US birth records in 1974 — 51 years ago. The typical Joshawa alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 500 people named Joshawa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Joshawa most popular?
Joshawa peaked in 1985, reaching #2019 nationally. See the whole 1985 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Hebrew Yehoshua to Joshawa
The story of Joshawa
Joshua is Moses' successor in the Hebrew Bible, the leader who brings Israel into Canaan, and English Protestants took the name up after the Reformation. Joshawa writes out the ending as heard rather than as spelled, and it appears in American records as a rare given name with no separate history.
Meaning
the Lord is salvation, as Joshua
The meaning belongs to Joshua, from Hebrew Yehoshua, usually read as 'the Lord is salvation'. Joshawa is a spelling of it and adds no meaning of its own.
How the name formed
- Hebrew Yehoshua
- Joshua
- Joshawa
Pronouncing Joshawa
JOSH-oo-wuh
Said like Joshua; the w in the spelling is the glide most speakers already make between the two vowels.
Nicknames for Joshawa
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1974
- Most boys named
- 198528 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2019reached in 1985
- Change vs 2010
- −36.4%7 in 2011, from 11
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Joshawas among us
people named Joshawa are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Joshawa sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Said exactly like Joshua, one of the best-known names in English.
- Josh is ready as a short form and needs no special spelling.
- Rests on a long, documented history.
- Because it spells the sound rather than the standard form, most readers will take it for a misspelling of Joshua, and teachers and forms will often correct it; the record cannot say whether a given Joshawa began as a choice or a slip.
- Josh is spelled the same either way, which makes everyday use easy.
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Joshawa
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Joshawas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Joshawa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Joshawa in 2025?
- Joshawa is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Joshawa with classmates?
- Joshawa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More J names
The most-given names starting with J, all years combined.
James#6 · John#23 · Joseph#29 · Joshua#66 · Jason#165 · Jacob#43 · Jeffrey#552 · Jonathan#89
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Joshawa? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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