Oshea
Masculine · “salvation”
Oshea is given to both — 1,227 boys and 61 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Oshea is Hoshea — salvation — the name Moses changed to Joshua before sending him to spy out the land.
How old is the name Oshea?
Oshea first appears in US birth records in 1986 — 39 years ago. The typical Oshea is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,200 people named Oshea are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Oshea most popular?
Oshea peaked in 1993, reaching #1638 nationally. Today it ranks #2480, 842 places below that high. See the whole 1993 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From y-sh-' to Oshea
The story of Oshea
Numbers records the renaming directly: Moses called Hoshea, son of Nun, Joshua — turning 'salvation' into 'the Lord saves' before sending him with the spies into Canaan. He was one of two who came back with a good report. Oshea appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
salvation
From the Hebrew Hoshea, from the root y-sh-', 'to save'. Numbers 13 says Moses called Hoshea son of Nun Yehoshua — Joshua — adding the divine element. Jesus descends from the same name. The Hebrew is documented.
How the name formed
- y-sh-'
- Hoshea
- Oshea
Related forms: הושע · Hoshea · Joshua
Pronouncing Oshea
oh-SHAY
Two syllables, stress on the second. Hebrew Hoshea is ho-SHAY-a with three.
Nicknames for Oshea
Moderate
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
- 1986
- Most boys named
- 201664 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1638reached in 1993
- Change vs 2024
- +12.5%54 in 2025, from 48
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.
Oshea in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- הושע in Hebrew — related form
- Hoshea in English — spelling variant
- Joshua in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Osheas among us
people named Oshea are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 31,631 born in 2025 was named Oshea
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Artemus test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Oshea's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Artemus climbed just as high around 1971, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Artemus's path sketches the road Oshea is walking now.
Oshea sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Oshea is headed
Oshea should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Oshea beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Oshea in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the text records the renaming to Joshua directly is a first-rate detail.
- The salvation meaning ties it to Joshua and Jesus.
- Shea is available as a short form with a real record.
- It is easily mistaken for the Irish O'Shea.
- Hoshea is the standard biblical spelling.
- It is genuinely rare and will be asked about.
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What they receive
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Oshea
Masculine · #2480 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Osheas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Oshea are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Oshea in 2025?
- Oshea ranks #2480 among US boy names in 2025, with 54 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Oshea?
- About 1 in every 31,631 US boys born in 2025 was named Oshea — 54 in all.
- Will my child share the name Oshea with classmates?
- Oshea will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Oshea
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Arya#2480 · Kaeson#2480 · Demian#2480 · Marion#2480 · Florian#2480 · Niles#2480 · Hardy#2480 · Caine#2480
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Oshea? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Oshea and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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