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Hosea

#2,154 in 2025Boys' name

To save

Hosea has been given to 5,501 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #2,154 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1925, with 74 recorded.

Babies named Hosea, 2025

1 in 49,500

Hosea over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
02040608018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Hosea: meaning, origin, and history

To save

Hebrew

What Hosea means

Hosea means “to save”, associated with hoshía'.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Latin Hōsēās, from Ancient Greek Ὡσηέ (Hōsēé), from Biblical Hebrew הוֹשֵׁעַ (hōšḗaʿ, “Hosea”), from the masculine singular imperative of הוֹשִׁיעַ (hoshía', “to save”).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Hosea (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Hosea is used in English and Welsh. Its origins include Hebrew.

Hosea comes through Latin Hōsēās, Ancient Greek Ὡσηέ and Biblical Hebrew הוֹשֵׁעַ.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Hosea is pronounced /ˌhoʊˈziːə/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,481 boys were recorded with the name Hosea between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 74 in 1925; its best national rank was #360 in 1885.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #2,247 in 2020 to #2,154 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,074 in 2015 to #2,154 in 2025.

In the United States, 20 girls were recorded with the name Hosea between 1914 and 1931. Its highest annual count was 5 in 1914; its best national rank was #3,873 in 1914.

How common is Hosea?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 49,500
67 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 25,500
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,154
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
34,298 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Hosea sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5001%

Put another way: gather 34,298 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Hosea. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Hoseas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Hosea was born before 1957 — so the typical Hosea is around 68 today.

Median birth year
1957
About 68 years old
Biggest decade
1920s
10.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
21.3%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
3,178
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1920s — 10.6% of all recorded uses (583).

Is Hosea rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+200
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+93
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−80
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.99×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
90.5%
Peak was 1925 (74)
Years since peak
100
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
23.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#360
1885

Spellings of Hosea

Hosea is not the most common spelling — Jose is, with 80.0% against Hosea's 0.74%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Hosea is used

Across 2016–2025, Hosea was most concentrated in Ohio — about 1 in 25,000 boys, against 1 in 59,200 across all states with data. It was least common in Florida (1 in 100,000).

14 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Ohio1 in 25,000
  2. 2Pennsylvania1 in 33,333
  3. 3Indiana1 in 50,000
  4. 4Kentucky1 in 50,000
  5. 5Missouri1 in 50,000
  6. 6Texas1 in 50,000
  7. 7Washington1 in 50,000
  8. 8California1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Hosea around the world

Where Hosea ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2004–2025
    #2,133
    in 2025
  • France
    2021–2025
    #6,037
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2003–2024
    #1,459
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1978–2002
    #606
    in 2002

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Hosea

People whose public names include Hosea, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Hosea by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,154
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 93
Best rank ever
#360
1885
Peak year
1925
74 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,481
Count in 2025
67

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#3,873
1914
Peak year
1914
5 that year
First recorded
1914
Last recorded
1931
All-time count
20
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Hosea

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

HosieHoseyHossAiseaHossamHosamChelseaHosiaHoskieHosteenHosseinHoseHossainHostonHoscarJoseaSeaKelsea

Names with a curve like Hosea

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Hosea, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

EvansLeanderWilliamsFritzLemuelRichmondOrinWaylandLouEnosMahlonRaleigh

Sibling names for Hosea

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Hosea

Top names of 1925, Hosea's peak yearThe 1920s in fullOther names that peaked in 1885Boys' names starting with HUncommon Welsh Boy Names