(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.
1. French: from a short form of the personal Jordanis.
2. French and English: from a pet form of Daniel.
3. French: habitational name, with the preposition d(e), for someone from Anixhe in Fexhelez-Slins in the Belgian province of Liège, recorded in the 13th century as Anis.
4. Hungarian: patronymic from Dani, a pet form of the personal name Dániel, Hungarian form of Daniel.
5. Czech and Slovak (Daniš): variant of Daňek (see Danek).
6. Lithuanian and Latvian: from a derivative of the personal name Danis, Danielius (see Daniel).
FOREBEARS A Danis-Tourangeau, from Tours, was married in Montreal in 1658.
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![[Image: Color-coded map of the United States showing name distribution by state.]](/map/Joseph.Danis.US.gif)
