“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat” originally starring Donny Osmond was inspired by a great Biblical figure known by many titles. Well loved is Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary, known as Joseph the Betrothed, Joseph the Worker, Joseph of Nazareth, foster father to Jesus of Nazareth. Joseph is venerated as a saint by the churches of the Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Churches, such as he was loved.

Joseph is a masculine name, with its counterpart Josephine.  It is pronounced: JO-sef (English), Yo-zef German), zho-ZEF (French).   In Hebrew, Joseph means “he will add” or “God will increase”.

In the Old Testament, Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob in the House of David. As the story goes, his brothers had a great deal of jealousy towards him, kidnapped him to Egypt and left him here to die. He managed to survive on his own wits and became the adviser to the Pharoah of Egypt.

The popularity of Joseph has stayed high in rankings for over a hundred years, the lowest being 11 out of 1000 names. As a female name, it had a lowly appearance in the 1900’s-1930’s, resurfacing a bit in the 1960’s-1980’s, but not making much of an impact as a female Josephine. Joseph is also popular in England/Wales, but moderately so in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and Australia where it ranks in the 30%.

Variant names of Joseph are:   Josef, Joe Josepha, Josephine, Yosef, Josephus

Besides its religious and Biblical origins, males with the name Joseph appear to be great thinkers, and rank at the top with awards, prizes and titles. The list for this namesake is very extensive.  Fourteen characters in the Bible have this name; even a Shakespearean character; not to mention several kings/emperors of Hungary, Germany, and the Holy Roman Empire. The name Joseph is perceived as masculine, classic, formal, wholesome, strong, and natural.

As mentioned above,  the roster for name Joseph is both extensive and impressive, starting with the recently appointed Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger.

Various members of the U.U.Supreme Court Justices have the name Joseph:
* Joseph Phil Bradley ( Mar. 23, 1879-Jan. 22, 1892)
* Joseph Rucker Lamar ( Jan.3, 1911-Jan.2, 1916)
* Joseph McKenna ( Jan. 26, 1898-Jan. 5, 1925)
* Joseph Story ( Feb. 3, 1812-Sept. 10, 1845)

Nobel Prize Winners:

* Joseph Bradsby - Literature ( 1987)
* Joseph L. Goldstein - Medicine ( 1985)
* Joseph E. Murry - Medicine ( 1990)
* Joseph Rotblat - Peace ( 1995)
* Joseph E. Stiglitz - Economics ( 2001)
* Joseph H. Taylor - Physics ( 1993)
* Joseph J. Thomas - Physics ( 1906)

Astronaut: Joseph Allen
Hockey Hall of Fame: Joseph Cattarinch, Joseph Hall, Lapierriere, Mullen, Patrick, Ratelle
Simpson, Corvo ( hockey player only)
Hall of Fame Golfer: Joseph Dey
Marathon Runners: Joseph M. Dowling
Joseph M. Burgasser
American Idol: Joseph Murena, 4th season

Although there are not a huge number of actors with the name Joseph, many have decided to call their children Joseph. Here’s the list:

Joseph, the child of Jack Johnson; Jerry Lewis, Joe Piscapo, Joseph Binder, Judy Garland, Kevin Costner, Kristin Scott Thomas, Marilu Henner, Mark Fiennes, Naomi Baka, Natalie Moreales, Patricia Richardson, Pete Townshend, Ray Romano, Rutherford B. Hayes. Second name as Joseph; child of Ann Jillian, Cathy Moriarity, David Letterman, Edward Kennedy, Kelly Ripa, Kevin Kline, Shannon Reid, Sharon Stone, Sydney Luft, and Victoria (Posh Spice) Adam.

Obviously, churches and hospitals favor the name St. Joseph, as in St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, Canada; the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph in San Jose, California; the Basilica Saint JosephProto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Kentucky.  The St. Joseph Church at Umerkhadi in Mumbai, India is 75 years old. In Lebanon, numerous educational institutions, hospitals, and churches carry the name St. Joseph. e.g. Universite Saint Joseph in Beirut; in France, there are six places named St. Joseph; in the U.S., 14 towns, counties, townships, many rivers and bays have this name.

St. Joseph in both Trinidad and Tobago are the oldest towns in each place. The Spanish form, San Jose is considered by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency to be the most commonly used name for a place in the world. e.g. San Jose in Costa Rica and San Jose in California. Remember the song “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”, popular in the 1970’s?

Facts and Fun Information:

* Dr. Joseph Dello Rosso is a famous eyelid doctor in New York.
* Joseph C. Wilson was the 4th U.S. Ambassador to Gabon ( 1992-1995).
* Joseph Stalin was Secretary-General of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union ( Dec. 21, 1879- March 5, 1953).
* Joseph Howe was a Nova Scotian Legislator in Canada ( born Dec. 13, 1804) in Halifax.
* Joseph Cinnione is Director of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
* Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has had 12 different cast albums, starting with star Donnie Osmond, brother of          Marie Osmond, popular in Dancing With the Stars TV series.

* There is a weekly chess club led by Chief Joseph Jazz Band at Ockley Green Middle School in Portland, Oregon.
* There is a brand name aspirin called St. Joseph Aspirin.
* The Newman Energy Machine, created by Joseph Newman produces unlimited speed and power, turning a 1650 lb. rotary, a 375 lb.  displacement pump using only 20 watts of power.

There are also fictional characters with the name Joseph. Joseph Donnelly (Tom Cruise) is the hero in “Far and Away” with then wife, Nicole Kidman (1992). Diamond Joseph Quinby, is the mayor’s name in “The Simpsons”. Do not forget the young and handsome “Little Joe” Cartwright, one of the three sons in a popular Western series called “Bonanza”.