(male) English form of the biblical Hebrew name Yosef, meaning ‘(God) shall add (another son)’. This was borne by the favourite son of Jacob, whose brothers became jealous of him and sold him into slavery (Genesis 37). He was taken to Egypt, where he rose to become chief steward to Pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled to his brothers when they came to buy corn during a seven-year famine (Genesis 43–7). In the New Testament Joseph is the name of the husband of the Virgin Mary. It is also borne by a rich Jew, Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50; John 19:38), who took Jesus down from the Cross, wrapped him in a shroud, and buried him in a rock tomb. According to medieval legend, Joseph of Arimathea brought the Holy Grail to Britain. The name was uncommon in Britain in the Middle Ages but was revived in the mid 16th century and had become popular by the 1630s, remaining so ever since.
Variant: Josef.
Short forms: Joe, Jo.
Cognates: Irish: Seosamh. Scottish Gaelic: Iòseph. German: Josef. Dutch: Jozef. Scandinavian: Josef. French: Joseph. Spanish: José. Catalan: Josep. Portuguese: José. Italian: Giuseppe. Russian, Bulgarian: Iosif. Polish: Józef. Czech: Josef. Croatian, Slovenian: Josip. Finnish: Jooseppi. Hungarian: József, Osip. Latvian: Jāzeps. Lithuanian: Juozapas.
German: 1. from Middle High German kummer, kumber ‘grief’, ‘distress’, ‘trouble’, hence a byname for someone who had suffered some loss or other misfortune; or alternatively a topographic name of the same origin for a person living near a rubble heap. Kummer is also a slang word for a penitentiary, and in some instances the surname may have arisen as nickname for a prisoner or a jailer. 2. possibly a derivative of the medieval personal name Kunemar, of which the first element is from Old High German kuoni ‘bold’ or chunni ‘people’ (see Konrad); the second is from Old High German māri ‘fame’, ‘glory’.
Some content provided by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Copyright © 2009 Oxford University Press. Oxford University Press, Inc. does not make any
representation or warranty as to, or accept responsibility for the accuracy, currency, or
completeness of the content of the information supplied and users should seek independent
verification of the facts described therein.
![[Image: Color-coded map of the United States showing name distribution by state.]](/map/Joseph.Kummer.US.gif)
