Josue

hoh-SWEH

Josué is the Spanish, Portuguese, and French form of the name Joshua, derived from the Hebrew Yĕhōshuaʻ (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ), meaning “Yahweh is salvation” or “the Lord saves.” The name combines the theophoric element Yah, a shortened form of Yahweh, with the

US Rank

No. 294

Births

1,140

Peak Year

2007

Hebrew root y-sh-ʻ, meaning “to save, to deliver, to rescue.” The Greek Septuagint rendered the name as Iēsous, the same form that later became the basis for the name Jesus, making Joshua and Jesus linguistic siblings.

The biblical Joshua, son of Nun, succeeded Moses as the leader of the Israelites and led them across the Jordan into Canaan around the 13th century BCE, as recounted in the Book of Joshua.

What the name Josue means

His conquest of Jericho, the distribution of tribal territories, and the covenant renewal at Shechem established him as a founding figure of biblical Israel.

Early Christian writers including Origen, in his 3rd-century homilies, read Joshua as a prefiguration of Christ, reinforcing the name’s theological resonance.

The Iberian form Josué became standard in Spanish and Portuguese Bible translations, including the Reina-Valera Spanish Bible first published in 1569.

Literary use includes the Portuguese poet Josué Montello (1917-2006) and the Brazilian geographer Josué de Castro (1908-1973), whose book Geografia da Fome (1946) drew international attention to world hunger.

Josué first appeared in the U.S. SSA top 1000 for boys in 1973 and climbed rapidly with Hispanic immigration, reaching the top 150 by 2000.

The name remains among the most popular Hispanic boys’ names in the United States, with strongest use in California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois. In Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, Josué consistently appears within national top-50 lists.

Contemporary bearers include Brazilian footballer Josué Anunçiado de Oliveira, known simply as Josué, and Mexican actor Josué Alvarado.