girl's name
Josephine
JOH-suh-feen
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 9
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 446,709
the United States
#53
2025 births
Josephine is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," the French feminine form of Joseph. Napoleon's first wife, born Marie Josèphe Rose, was called Josephine by him, and her prominence spread the name across Europe.
- Josephine is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1918, when 8,709 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 804 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Josephine over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 7,749 |
| 1890s | 12,500 |
| 1900s | 18,860 |
| 1910s | 61,513 |
| 1920s | 69,444 |
| 1930s | 36,318 |
| 1940s | 24,424 |
| 1950s | 16,462 |
| 1960s | 9,358 |
| 1970s | 5,160 |
| 1980s | 4,746 |
| 1990s | 7,059 |
| 2000s | 13,924 |
| 2010s | 23,960 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 20,981 |
What Josephine means
Josephine means "he will add" or "God shall add," inherited from Joseph and the Hebrew Yosef. The sense is one of increase — Genesis presents it as Rachel's prayer for another child — and the feminine form carries the meaning unchanged.
Where Josephine comes from
Josephine is the French Joséphine, a feminine diminutive of Joseph, from the Hebrew Yosef, meaning he will add. The name's spread through nineteenth-century Europe owes most to Joséphine de Beauharnais, Napoleon's first wife: born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie, she was known as Rose until Napoleon chose to call her Josephine, and as Empress she made the name fashionable well beyond France. English adopted it in that form, and it generated an unusually warm set of short forms — Josie, Jo, Fifi, and Posy among them. It has returned strongly in recent decades as part of the revival of long vintage names.
Josephine in use
Napoleon's Josephine was christened Rose; Josephine was effectively a name he gave her.
How popular is Josephine?
In 2025, Josephine was given to 4,126 babies in the United States, ranking #53 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Josephine is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Josephine is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Joséphine | Joséphine is Josephine written with an acute accent in France, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #88 in France, against #2,011 for Josephine. | 9,535 |
Names that peaked alongside Josephine
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Josephine also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Josephine over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
6 nicknames for Josephine
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Josephine in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Italian
- Giuseppina
Sibling names for Josephine
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Josephine — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Josephine
What does the name Josephine mean?
Josephine means "he will add," the French feminine form of Joseph, from the Hebrew Yosef.
Was Napoleon's wife really called Josephine?
She was christened Marie Josèphe Rose and known as Rose; Napoleon chose to call her Josephine.
What are nicknames for Josephine?
Josie, Jo, and Posy are the most common short forms.
How popular is the name Josephine?
In 2025, Josephine was given to 4,126 babies in the United States, ranking #53 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Josephine a girl's or a boy's name?
Josephine is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Josephine?
Josephine has 3 syllables.
When was Josephine most popular?
Josephine peaked in 1918, when 8,709 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
Is Josephine a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Josephine currently ranks #53 in the United States. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.