Armenian2 syllablesBiblical
Meaning: he will add; may God add another.
Hovsep
| Origin | Armenian — Հովսեփ, from Hebrew Yosef through Greek Iōsēph |
|---|---|
| Meaning | He will add, from Hebrew yasaf, to add; Genesis reads the name as a mother's prayer for a further son |
| Pronunciation | hov-SEP — two syllables, stress on the second, both consonants crisp |
| Popularity | Outside the current U.S. top 100; steady rather than fashionable in Armenia, and very common as the surname Hovsepyan |
| Variants | Joseph, Yosef, Yusuf, Ovsep, Giuseppe, Jozef |
| Nicknames | Armenian speakers usually keep it whole; abroad, bearers answer to Joe |
| Surname | Hovsepyan, son of Hovsep — one of the standard Armenian patronymic surnames |
History & meaning
Armenian surnames are patronymics with -yan or -ian welded on the end, which means the common given names of the fifth century are still legible in the phone book of the twenty-first: Hovsepyan, Hovhannisyan, Grigoryan, Sargsyan, Davtyan. Hovsep is one of the productive ones. The name is Hebrew Yosef, from yasaf, to add, and Genesis explains it as Rachel's request for another son; both the patriarch and the husband of Mary are Hovsep in Armenian, and it is the second who supplied most of the christenings.
The name also sits at an awkward hinge in Armenian history. The Catholicos Hovsep who led the church through the confrontation with Sasanian Persia in the 440s was taken into captivity after the battle of Avarayr and died there with the priests remembered as the Ghevondian martyrs — the clerical half of the story whose military half belongs to Vardan Mamikonian. Fourteen centuries later, Hovsep Vartanian published Akabi Hikayesi in Istanbul in 1851, a novel written in Turkish but printed in Armenian letters, and generally counted the first novel published in the Ottoman Empire.
Why parents choose it
Hovsep is quiet. It has none of the martial charge of the warrior-saint names and none of the length of Hovhannes, and it lands in English as an unfamiliar shape with an obvious translation behind it. For families who already have a Joseph in the previous generation, it is the usual way of repeating him without repeating him.
Middle names for Hovsep
The clipped ending takes a longer middle name comfortably: Hovsep Gabriel, Hovsep Tigran, Hovsep Emmanuel, Hovsep Garen. The middle names guide has more on stacking two heritage names without crowding.
Famous Hovseps
Hovsep Vartanian (1813–1879) wrote the Ottoman Empire's first novel and worked as a translator for the Porte. Hovsep Pushman (1877–1966) emigrated from Dikranagerd and became a successful American still-life painter whose canvases sold out at Grand Central Art Galleries. Hovsep Emin, writing in London in the 1750s, was among the earliest advocates of Armenian liberation.
Consider instead
Joseph is the direct English equivalent. Hovhannes is the same construction with more weight. Samvel gives you an Old Testament name that keeps Sam in reserve.