# Josephine (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/josephine/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | French |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈd͡ʒoʊ.sə.fiːn/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Jose, Joey, Josie, Joie, Jozy, Josy, Zeffie |
| Variant spellings | Jo, Joe |
| US babies named this | 332,458 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 991 / 331,467 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 6,071, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From French Joséphine, diminutive of Josèphe, feminine form of Joseph. By surface analysis, Joseph + -ine. Popularized in English by Josephine Bonaparte, the empress of Napoleonic France.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,730 | 182 |
| 2012 | 1,957 | 160 |
| 2013 | 2,012 | 160 |
| 2014 | 2,286 | 147 |
| 2015 | 2,505 | 131 |
| 2016 | 2,797 | 114 |
| 2017 | 2,823 | 107 |
| 2018 | 3,050 | 91 |
| 2019 | 3,123 | 90 |
| 2020 | 3,057 | 87 |
| 2021 | 3,391 | 72 |
| 2022 | 3,266 | 70 |
| 2023 | 3,371 | 64 |
| 2024 | 3,765 | 56 |
| 2025 | 4,126 | 53 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | 8 | 3,036 |
| 1954 | 7 | 3,299 |
| 1955 | 6 | 3,694 |
| 1956 | 9 | 2,878 |
| 1958 | 5 | 4,227 |
| 1960 | 7 | 3,492 |
| 1961 | 7 | 3,512 |
| 1962 | 5 | 4,348 |
| 1963 | 6 | 3,829 |
| 1964 | 9 | 2,960 |
| 1965 | 7 | 3,397 |
| 1975 | 6 | 5,111 |
| 1988 | 5 | 7,871 |
| 1989 | 9 | 5,377 |
| 2023 | 5 | 13,131 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 186 | 261 |
| 2012 | 212 | 235 |
| 2013 | 187 | 257 |
| 2014 | 176 | 271 |
| 2015 | 208 | 238 |
| 2016 | 201 | 253 |
| 2017 | 205 | 245 |
| 2018 | 193 | 252 |
| 2019 | 179 | 269 |
| 2020 | 178 | 267 |
| 2021 | 175 | 272 |
| 2022 | 165 | 275 |
| 2023 | 170 | 264 |
| 2024 | 180 | 267 |
| 2025 | 182 | 256 |

## In other languages

- Danish: Josefine, Josephine
- Finnish: Josefiina
- French: Joséphine
- German: Josefine, Josephine
- Icelandic: Jósefína
- Irish: Seosaimhín
- Italian: Giuseppina
- Norwegian: Josefine
- Polish: Józefina
- Portuguese: Josefina
- Romanian: Iosefina
- Russian: Жозефи́на, Джо́зефин
- Slovak: Jozefína
- Spanish: Josefa, Josefina
- Swedish: Josefin, Josefina, Josefine

## People named Josephine

- Josephine Baker, American-born French dancer, singer and actress (1906–1975)
- Joséphine de Beauharnais, Empress consort of the French from 1804 to 1814 (1763-1814)
- Josephine Hull, American stage and film actress (1877-1957)
- Josephine Butler, British feminist and social reformer fighting to end child prostitution (1828–1906)
- Josephine Cochrane, American inventor (1839–1913)
- Princess Josephine of Denmark, Danish princess, youngest child of Frederik X of Denmark and Queen Mary
- Josephine Langford, Australian actress
- Josephine Chaplin, American actress (1949–2023)
- Josephine Skriver, Danish model (born 1993)
- Josephine Henning, German footballer
- Princess Joséphine Caroline of Belgium, Belgian Royal (1872–1958)
- Josephine Diebitsch Peary, American explorer

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.