Name day
Joseph: Name Day and Patron Saint
Joseph keeps the name day on the Sunday between 26 and 31 December, or 26 December, the feast of St Joseph the Betrothed: next on 27 December 2026.
By Greek custom the name day is 31 July: St Iosif.
- Patron saint
- St Joseph the Betrothed
- New Calendar
- the Sunday between 26 and 31 December, or 26 December
- Next name day
- 27 December 2026 (New Calendar) · 10 January 2027 (Old Calendar)
- Greek custom
- 31 July: St Iosif
The patron saint: St Joseph the Betrothed
Kept on the Sunday between 26 and 31 December, or 26 December · Sunday after the Nativity (with King David and James the Brother of the Lord); 26 Dec if no Sunday falls between 25 Dec and 1 Jan — movable
Righteous Joseph, a descendant of King David, was a widower and carpenter with children from his first marriage when he was chosen to be the guardian and betrothed of the Virgin Mary, who had vowed herself to God. When he learned she was with child he was troubled, until an angel told him the Child was conceived of the Holy Spirit. He brought her to Bethlehem, watched as shepherds and Magi worshiped the newborn Christ, and at the angel’s word fled by night into Egypt to save the Child from Herod. In Egypt and later at Nazareth he supported the Holy Family by the work of his hands. Tradition says he reposed at about a hundred years of age. Orthodox Christians honor him as the quiet, obedient protector of the Holy Family and pray to him for fathers, husbands and the safety of the home.
What the faithful pray for
- the gift of being a faithful husband and father
- protection of one’s wife and children
- provision for the family through honest work
- chastity and purity of life
- guidance in hard decisions, as he was guided by angels in dreams
- a peaceful death in old age
Protection
- the family and the home
- children from those who would harm them
- families forced from their homes
Miracles
- Warned by an angel, Joseph took the Mother of God and the Infant Jesus into Egypt and saved them from the wrath of King Herod. (source)
Other saints named Joseph
St Iosif
Kept on 31 July, or 13 August on the Old Calendar
St Joseph of Damascus
Kept on 10 July, or 23 July on the Old Calendar · Hieromartyr Joseph of Damascus
The Damascene priest and scholar martyred with his flock in the massacre of 1860.
the Holy Fathers of Christ
Kept on the Sunday between 18 and 24 December · Sunday of the Holy Fathers, before the Nativity
On the Sunday before the Nativity the Church remembers the Holy Fathers, the ancestors of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh, named in His genealogy from Adam to St Joseph the Betrothed, together with all the righteous and the prophets who foretold His coming. The Church’s list runs from Adam and Eve through Abel, Seth, Enoch and Noah, to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and his twelve sons, through Judah and the line of Boaz and Obed to Jesse, the father of King David, and through the kings of Judah and the years of exile to Joseph. With them are remembered Moses and Aaron, the prophets Samuel, Nathan and Daniel, the Three Youths, and holy women such as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Ruth, Hannah and Esther. Saints and sinners alike stand in this family, for the Son of God took flesh from a real human family, of the house and lineage of David, as the Church’s own account of this Sunday stresses. The feast is kept on the Sunday between 18 and 24 December (on the Old Calendar, the Sunday between 31 December and 6 January), the last Sunday before Christmas. It is the name day of those called Jesse. The faithful ask the prayers of the Holy Fathers for their own families and descendants, and for a faith that waits on God’s promises as theirs did.
What the faithful pray for
- our families, our parents and our children
- faith that waits patiently on God’s promises
- a good preparation for the Nativity of Christ
- our ancestors and the generations to come
St Joseph
Kept on 26 January, or 8 February on the Old Calendar
Joseph in other languages
| Language | The name | Short forms |
|---|---|---|
| English | Joseph, Josef, José, Giuseppe, Iosif, Yosef, Jozef, Józef, Youssef | Joe, Joey, Jojo, Pepe, Beppe |
| Greek | Ιωσήφ, Iosif, Iosiph | Σήφης, Sifis |
| Russian | Иосиф, Осип, Iosif, Osip | Ося, Osya |
| Ukrainian | Йосип, Yosyp | |
| Bulgarian | Йосиф, Yosif | |
| Serbian | Јосиф, Josif | |
| Romanian | Iosif | |
| Georgian | იოსებ, Ioseb | სოსო, Soso |
| Arabic | يوسف, Youssef, Yousef, Yusuf, Youssif | |
| Spanish | José | Pepe |
| Italian | Giuseppe | |
| Portuguese | José | |
| Polish | Józef |
An icon for Joseph
We don't carry an icon of St Joseph the Betrothed yet. Ask for it below, and we will write to you when it is in.
Closest to it
For every name: the Guardian Angel, given at baptism
Have it consecrated by our priest before it reaches you: Consecration, $49.
A name-day gift for Joseph
Name-Day Gift Set $213$149
A patron saint's folding diptych chosen by first name, a stainless steel crucifix and a prayer rope, in a gift box with a card giving the saint's life and feast day.
The St Nicholas the Wonderworker & Guardian Angel Folding Diptych is chosen, for the Guardian Angel every Orthodox Christian receives at baptism, and the name is filled in.
Other names with this saint
Questions
When is Joseph’s name day?
Joseph keeps the name day on the Sunday between 26 and 31 December, or 26 December, the feast of St Joseph the Betrothed; the next is on 27 December 2026. By Greek custom it is kept on 31 July: St Iosif.
Who is the patron saint of Joseph?
St Joseph the Betrothed. Righteous Joseph, a descendant of King David, was a widower and carpenter with children from his first marriage when he was chosen to be the guardian and betrothed of the Virgin Mary, who had vowed herself to God.
How is Joseph written in other languages?
Greek: Ιωσήφ (Iosif), Russian: Иосиф (Iosif), Ukrainian: Йосип (Yosyp), Bulgarian: Йосиф (Yosif), Serbian: Јосиф (Josif) and Romanian: Iosif. Every form of the name keeps the same saint.
What is a good name-day gift for Joseph?
We don’t carry an icon of St Joseph the Betrothed yet, and you can ask for one on this page. Every Orthodox Christian has a Guardian Angel from baptism, so the Name-Day Gift Set ($149) with the Guardian Angel diptych is always fitting.
More about name days
- Name Days Explained: What They Are, How Families Keep Them, and Gifts
A name day is the feast of the saint whose name you carry. Here is how to find yours on either calendar, how Greek and Russian families keep it, and what to give.
- Orthodox Patron Saint: How to Find Yours (by Name, Day or Choice)
Your Orthodox patron saint is the saint whose name you were given at baptism. Here is how to find yours by name, by the day of your birth or baptism, or by choice, and how to keep the name day.
- Find another name
Sources
- OCA — Holy Righteous Joseph the Betrothed
- HomeLight — Burying a St. Joseph Statue to Help Sell Your Home
- OCA: Sunday before the Nativity
- Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church: Sunday before the Nativity of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ
- Orthodox Church in America, Lives of the Saints
- eortologio.net, Greek name-day calendar (Εορτολόγιο)
- azbyka.ru, Месяцеслов (the Russian Church's calendar of saints by name)