Joshua comes from the Hebrew name Yehoshu'a, meaning "Yahweh (YHWH) is salvation," from the elements yeho (יְהוֹ), referring to the Hebrew God and yasha' ( יָ ַשׁע), meaning "to save". In the Abrahamic religions, Joshua was a companion of Moses and one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan. Joshua has been used as an English name since the Protestant Reformation but peaked in modern popularity during the late 1990s and early 2000s.