Curious why Joseph is decidedly unaristocratic

Sorry Harrow not Eton

Benedict Cumberbatch is quite posh. Old Etonian. It's a name that would be picked by quite middle class people in England for a baby now. Ditto Dominic. Leo and Joseph are popular names for boys but not considered lower class.

Ilovestickers they are exactly the names my family used: Hannah, Joseph etc. There were some virtue names too, Happy being my favourite!

One of our sons is named a European version of Joseph, and DH's family were pleased as to them it's both very Christian and on the posh side. He's from a very Catholic country.

Stalin wasn't keen on the upper classes....

It is my favourite boys name.

Not just Catholic.

My English non conformist family used it and it was quite in fashion in those circles.

Again though the anti aristocratic side of English society.

I'd see Benedict as quite a posh catholic name

Nah. I’m Catholic. Benedict is a priest’s name. The shortening Ben is hugely popular.

I'd see Benedict as quite a posh catholic name.

I don't think Andrew is a catholic name, it is Scottish but I would put it more on Protestant side of that split.
St Andrew is the patron st of Scotland.

I know someone else has already posted but Joseph is more of a Catholic name. The aristocracy would have been protestant.

its

This a British perception.

I think it's because Joseph and it's Italian/Spanish/Italian versions are popular in Catholic countries and in the UK, Catholicism is associated with low class.

This is ONLY a British interpretation of class though. There is a Princess Joesphine in Denmark actually.

In Ireland, names like Dominic, Leo, Benedict, Joseph are seen as very solid. Same as James, Charles, Henry in the UK. We don't have a royalty so even if you're not religious at all, religious names provide that classic, solid, timeless list of names.

It's easy for me to demiss one perspective as ''just a British perspective'' but if you're British and living there, then I understand why it'd put you off.

Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man
Wasn't that John Merrick?

It is a great name. I live in hope that it will soon be the first name of the US President. I don't rate Biden as a candidate but anything would be better than another four years of Trump.

It’s a great name

What an interesting observation. I'd never noticed this, and I've never thought of the name as being Catholic or Jewish. Famous Britons I can think of whose first name was Joseph are:

JMW Turner, painter
Joseph Chamberlain, politician
Joseph Conrad, novelist (doesn't count, though, as he was Polish originally)
Joseph Fiennes, actor (very posh, but probably not aristocratic)
Joe McGann, actor and brother (almost certainly Catholic, haven't checked)
Joe Jackson, singer
Joe Strummer, musician, but he was really John Mellor
Joe Orton, playwright
Joseph Banks, naturalist
Joseph Lister, doctor who pioneered antiseptic surgery
Joseph Dalton Hooker, botanist and explorer
Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man

Probably lots more.

Whoever said Andrew was a Catholic name above - really? Not how I remember it in Scotland when I was growing up in the 1960s in a Presbyterian family/neighbourhood.

I agree that it is historically more associated with Catholicism - there are Josef / Josephs in European royalty.

Don’t forget there were two prominent biblical Josephs: Jesus’s stepdad, the carpenter, and the son of Jacob with his fancy coat all the way back in Genesis. Old Testament names seem to have been generally less used by UK royals and aristos.

I've had a dig around, and in Britain Joseph wasn't traditionally Catholic, but traditionally Jewish - only came into common usage in England after the Protestant Reformation, hence no kings etc. This happened with lots of biblical names, especially old testament ones - Hannah (as opposed to Anne), Rachel, Jacob, Benjamin etc.

Why it still isn't popular in the aristocracy, I couldn't say!

@GreenRoads OP is quite clear in her post that she doesn't care and it was just a musing she had, given the names traditional style.

I'd agree with the Hebrew/Catholic link. We have all Irish catholic grandparents and Joseph or Seosamh is very popular within their sibling groups. I have a Joseph, great name!

Hang on, OP, why are you checking a potential baby name against lists of current of presumptive dukes, marquesses and earls? Are you afraid little Joseph is going to stick out like a sore thumb in Burke’s Peerage or something???

It's a good classic, biblical name, traditionally very popular in Ireland.

I'm an English protestant, married to an Irish Catholic. We used it as a middle name for our third son, because its traditional meaning according to an old book of names I once borrowed from the library is, 'God has added another son'. It was perfect for our third DS, but I didn't want to use it for a first name as I only like Joseph, not its diminutives.