Thank you, Marjorie. So if Josh. isn't Joshua, Josa. must be? And I would not be at all surprised to find that Yorkshire scribes had "different ideas"! Maggie >>Over the last few years I have done quite a lot of transcribing of parish registers & in every instance where I could check Josh has been short for Joseph. When Josiah was intended or Joshua it was usually written in full. Maybe Yorkshire scribes had different ideas though.