# Joseph

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈd͡ʒəʊzɪf/ · frequency rank #2,901

## Definitions
1. Eleventh and favorite son of Jacob, by his wife Rachel.
2. The husband of Mary, mother of Jesus.
3. The 12th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
4. Joseph of Arimathea; man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus.
5. A male given name from Hebrew.
6. A surname:
7. A surname:
8. A locale in the United States:
9. A locale in the United States:
10. A locale in the United States:

## Etymology
From Middle English Ioseph, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew יוֹסֵף (Yoséf, literally “(God) shall add”); a son of Jacob. Doublet of Yusuf.

## Easily confused with
- **Josh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joseph-vs-josh)
- **Josiah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joseph-vs-josiah)
- **Josephus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/joseph-vs-josephus)
- **Jose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/jose-vs-joseph)
- **Josef** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/josef-vs-joseph)

## Common misspellings (9)
`jjoseph`, `joesph`, `josehp`, `josephh`, `josepph`, `jospeh`, `josseph`, `jsoeph`, `ojseph`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/joseph