Joshua is a Biblical given name derived from the Hebrew Yehoshua (יהושע). The name was a common alternative form of the name יֵשׁוּעַ – yēšūă which corresponds to the Greek spelling Ἰησοῦς (Iesous), from which, through the Latin Iesus, comes the English spelling Jesus.
As a result of the origin of the name, a majority of people before the 17th century who have this name are Jewish. A variant, truncated form of the name, Josh, gained popularity in the United States in the 1970s.
Information from the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics from 2003 to 2007 shows "Joshua" among the top-five given names for newborn males. In Scotland, the popularity of "Joshua" has been substantially lower than in the rest of the United Kingdom, appearing at rank 35 in 2000 and rising to rank 22 in 2006.
Joshua, leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses
Joshua the High Priest, High Priest ca. 515-490 BCE after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity
Ordered chronologically
Joshua ben Perachiah (given name יהושע = Yehoshua), Nasi (prince) of the Sanhedrin in the latter half of the 2nd century BCE
Joshua ben Hananiah (given name יהושע = Yehoshua) (died 131), a tanna (sage)
Joshua ben Levi, Jewish amora (scholar) in the first half of the third century
Joshua the Stylite, author of a chronicle of the war between the Later Roman Empire and the Persians between 502 and 506
Joshua Lorki (fl. c. 1400), Spanish-Jewish physician
Joshua Allen, 5th Viscount Allen (1728–1816), Irish nobleman
Joshua Barnes (1654–1712), English scholar
Joshua Boaz ben Simon Baruch (died 1557), Talmudist in Spain and later Italy
Joshua Boyle, Irish Member of Parliament in 1641 and 1661
Joshua dei Cantori, Italian converted Jew who attacked the Talmud in 1559
Joshua Caslari (fl. 1540–1558), French Jewish liturgical poet
Joshua Chamberlain (1828–1914), American brevet major general and professor, awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Gettysburg
Joshua Cooper (died 1757) (c. 1696–1757), Irish landowner and Member of Parliament
Joshua Cooper (1732–1800), Irish landowner and Member of Parliament
Joshua Edward Cooper (c. 1761–1837), Irish landowner and Member of Parliament
Joshua Gwillen Doan (1811–1839), farmer and tanner who participated in the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837
Joshua Falk (1555–1614), Polish Halakhist and Talmudist
Joshua Hughes (1807–1889), Welsh Anglican bishop
Joshua Lewinsohn (1833-?), Lithuanian Jewish teacher and writer
Joshua A. Lowell (1801–1874), American politician
Joshua Millner (1849–1931), Irish Olympic shooter
Joshua Abraham Norton (c. 1814–1880), "Emperor Norton", English-born American immigrant who proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States
Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), English painter, particularly of portraits
Joshua Slocum (1844–1909), first man to sail solo around the world
Joshua Zeitlin (1742–1822), rabbinical scholar and philanthropist born in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Belarus)
Joshua Heschel Zoref (1633-1700), ascetic and an important figure in the Lithuanian Sabbatean movement
20th and 21st centuries
Joshua Ang (born 1989), Singaporean film actor
Josh Barnett (born 1977), American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler
Joshua Bartholomew (born 1984), Canadian singer-songwriter, musician and producer
Josh Beckett (born 1980), American former Major League Baseball pitcher
Joshua Bell (born 1967), American violinist and conductor
Joshua Blahyi, better known by his nom de guerre General Butt Naked (born 1971), Liberian former warlord
Joshua Ilika Brenner (born 1976), Mexican swimmer
Joshua Cardwell (1910–1982), politician in Northern Ireland
Joshua Chelanga (born 1973), Kenyan long-distance runner
Joshua Clottey (born 1977), Ghanaian professional boxer and former IBF welterweight champion
Josh Cooper (cryptographer) (1901–1981), British cryptographer
Josh Cooper (defensive end) (born 1980), American football player, formerly in the National Football League
Josh Culbreath (born 1932), American retired hurdler
Joshua Dariye (born 1957), Nigerian politician
Ralph Joshua Dionisio (born 1994), Filipino actor
Josh Duggar (born 1988), Disgraced American reality TV participant and political activist
Josh Duhamel (born 1972), American actor and former model
Josh Dun (born 1988), American drummer, currently in the band Twenty One Pilots
Joshua Eagle (born 1973), Australian tennis coach and former player
Joshua Fernandez (born 1974), Malaysian film director
Joshua Fishman (born 1926), American linguist
Josh Gibson (1911–1947), American Negro league baseball catcher
Joshua Oupa Gqozo (born 1952), former military ruler of the former homeland of Ciskei in South Africa
Josh Groban (born 1981), American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer
Josh Hamilton (born 1981), American Major League baseball player
Josh Hartnett (born 1978), American actor and movie producer
Josh Homme (born 1973), American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and actor
Josh Howard (born 1980), American basketball player, formerly in the National Basketball Association
Josh Hutcherson (born 1992), American actor
Josh Jasper (born 1987), All-American college football placekicker
Joshua Kennedy (born 1982), Australian former soccer player
Joshua Andrew Koenig (1968–2010), American actor and human rights activist
Josh Kronfeld (born 1971), New Zealand former rugby union flanker
Joshua Livestro (born 1970), Dutch columnist and political writer
Josh Mahoney (born 1977), former Australian rules footballer
Josh McDaniels (born 1976), American National Football League offensive coordinator and former head coach
Josh Morris, several individuals
Josh Mostel (born 1946), American actor
Joshua Neustein (born 1940), Polish-born American visual artist
Joshua Owusu (born 1948), Ghanaian retired triple jumper and long jumper
Josh Peck (born 1986), American actor
Joshua Perper (born 1932), Romanian-born American forensic pathologist and toxicologist
Joshua Radin (born 1974), American singer-songwriter
Josh Radnor (born 1974), American actor, director, producer and screenwriter
Josh Satin (born 1984), American former Major League Baseball player
Josh Server (born 1979), American actor and comedian
Joshua Simon (fl. 21st century), Israeli art curator, writer and filmmaker
Joshua Smith (disambiguation)
Josh Tordjman (born 1985), Canadian hockey goaltender
Josh Wagenaar (born 1985), Canadian former footballer
Joshua Wheeler (born 1975), American Delta Force Operator, first American service member killed in action while fighting ISIS
Josh Whitesell (born 1982), American former Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball player
Josh Widdicombe, English stand-up comedian and presenter
Josh Wilcox (born 1974), American former National Football League player
Josh Zeid (born 1987), American baseball pitcher, former in Major League Baseball
Josh Bauer, a minor character in season 6 of the American television series 24
Joshua Christopher, in the Japanese anime/manga Chrono Crusade
Joshua Clay (debut 1977), DC Comics superhero Tempest
Joshua Deets (debut 1985), a recurring character in the Lonesome Dove American novel series
the title character of Joshua Jones (1991–1992), a Welsh children's television series
Josh Lyman (1999–2006), in the American television series The West Wing
Josh Nichols (2004–2007), in the American television series Drake & Josh
Joshua, a computer/artificial intelligence in the 1983 movie WarGames
