JOSIAH KLINEDINST

Meaning ‘God heals’ in Hebrew; it is borne by a king of Judah, whose story is recounted in 2 Kings 22–23. This was fairly frequently used as a given name in the English-speaking world, especially among Dissenters, from the 18th to the late 19th century. Following several decades of disuse, this name has become increasingly fashionable since the 1970s, especially in the U.S. The spelling Josias was also in use among Puritans from the 16th century. The most famous English bearer is the potter Josiah Wedgwood (1730–95). In North America this was a recurrent name in the Quincy family of Massachusetts; the best-known Josiah Quincy (1744–75) was a pre-Revolutionary patriot, who died while returning from arguing the cause of the American colonists in London.

Americanized spelling of German Kleindienst.