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The Yousef Name Guide
One Hebrew name, Yosef, "he will add," travelled to nearly every language on Earth. Here is every branch of the family, with its meaning, history, popularity and best-known bearers.
YosefHebrewYousefArabic (English spelling)YoussefArabic (French-style spelling)YusufArabic, Turkish, Malay, UrduYousuf / YousafUrdu, Punjabi, PashtoYoucefAlgerian Arabic (French-style)Youssouf / YoussouWest AfricaJosephEnglish, FrenchJoséSpanish, PortugueseGiuseppeItalianJosefGerman, Czech, ScandinavianJózef / JosipPolish, Croatian, SlovakIosifRussian, Romanian, GreekHovsepArmenian
Why so many spellings?Two routes did most of the work. Through Greek and Latin, Yosef became Joseph, José, Giuseppe and Josef. Through Arabic, it became Yūsuf, and then Yousef, Youssef, Yusuf, Youcef and Youssouf depending on which alphabet habits a country picked up along the way.
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