The Joshi surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,089 people carried this name — #3,542 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 29,200 people counted. That is up 84% from 5,478 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Joshi surname

Borrowed from Nepali जोशी (jośī), Gujarati જોશી (jośī), Marathi जोशी (jośī), and Hindi जोशी (jośī), meaning astrologer.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Joshi» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

176 people named Joshi live in Switzerland.

They live in 13 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Zurich 55
Geneva 29
Vaud 15
Zug 13
Lucerne 11
Aargau 10
Basel-Landschaft 9
Bern 9

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 96 people named Joshi live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Antwerp 58
Brussels-Capital 17
Flemish Brabant 10
West Flanders 6
East Flanders 5

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In Poland’s population register

20 people named Joshi have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 284 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 3 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Masovian 10
Pomeranian 7
Lesser Poland 3

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

229 people named Joshi are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 199
Finland (2026) 30

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Joshi in American newspapers,
1914–1946.

Newspaper page from Rock Springs Miner carrying the name Joshi
Rock Springs Miner 1914-05-30
Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-Herald carrying the name Joshi
The Birmingham Age-Herald 1922-02-14
Newspaper page from The Chicago Star carrying the name Joshi
The Chicago Star 1946-10-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,716 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Joshi in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1990s.

174 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Joshi. The most, 41, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 2.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 40
Western Australia 39
Queensland 28
South Australia 23
ACT (Canberra) 19
Victoria 16
Tasmania 6

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Joshi.

Who carried it

People named Joshi,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Amar Chaud Joshi
    Amar Chaud Joshi 1908–1971 · botanist
  • Umashankar Joshi
    Umashankar Joshi 1911–1988 · writer
  • Hari Dev Joshi
    Hari Dev Joshi 1921–1995 · politician
  • Suresh Joshi
    Suresh Joshi 1921–1986 · writer
  • Bhimsen Joshi
    Bhimsen Joshi 1922–2011 · actor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Umashankar Joshi: Apurva Madia, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); Suresh Joshi: Unknown photographer name, commissioned by Suresh Joshi, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); Bhimsen Joshi: Bhaskar Bhatt Joshi, CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 169 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Joshi,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States13 records

13 records of the Joshi name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 11
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Shashibhushan G. Joshi

    Born 1917 in United Kingdom. Enlisted 1945 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; chiropractor from Greene County, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)
  2. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Madhav G. Joshi

    Born 1921 in Mysore, India. Entered the United States at San Francisco in 1946. Listed in the U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Manorama Joshi

    Born 1905 in Manhattan, New York.

    NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Joshi in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia1 record

1 record of the Joshi name in Australia Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Aroon Laxman Joshi

    Of Glen Waverley, Victoria; died 1997.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

France1 record

1 record of the Joshi name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Vraj Raj Joshi

    Born 1928 in India; died 1995 in Massy (Essonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Joshi.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Joshi is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Joshi volume
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