Josephine Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Girl Names Like Josephine

Josephine Name Origin: Hebrew
Pronunciation: jo-sah-feen
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Josephine Name Meaning

With her incredible meaning of “God will increase,” and her sound, we’re not surprised that Josephine has been on the rise in recent years. She’s a clever way to honor a Joseph and is on trend with the vintage girl names movement that brought picks like Eleanor, Evelyn, and Sophia back into popularity.

Josephine is a mature name but don’t be fooled into thinking she’s stuffy or uptight. She easily can fit a little girl on the go, carrying with her a dash of sophistication. She shuns the cutesy feel of many modern names but can be softened with a variety of nicknames like Josie, Joey, and Jojo. If those aren’t your cup of tea, she has more like Sephi and Fifi.

Josephine has appeared in many works of fiction like Anne of Green Gables and A Series of Unfortunate Events. She’s been the name of several royals including queens, empresses, princesses, and countesses. She’s also dotted the halls of history with Josephine Butler fighting for women’s suffrage and Josephine Clara Goldmark pushing for labor reform in the United States.

She has a few variant spellings including Josefine and Josefene, and her longer sister Josephina packs an extra syllable of sass for those looking for something a little more.

Josephine Name Popularity

How popular is the name Josephine? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	—	2,793	0.7933%
1911	—	3,005	0.807%
1912	—	3,972	0.7876%
1913	—	4,820	0.8501%
1914	—	5,896	0.846%
1915	—	7,602	0.8367%
1916	—	8,120	0.8406%
1917	—	8,321	0.8317%
1918	—	8,681	0.8089%
1919	—	8,104	0.7739%
1920	—	8,088	0.7274%
1921	—	8,130	0.71%
1922	—	7,863	0.7058%
1923	—	7,559	0.6749%
1924	—	7,271	0.6261%
1925	—	6,805	0.6021%
1926	—	6,404	0.5822%
1927	—	6,105	0.5515%
1928	—	5,668	0.5297%
1929	—	5,293	0.511%
1930	—	4,986	0.4773%
1931	—	4,492	0.4551%
1932	—	4,090	0.414%
1933	—	3,558	0.3819%
1934	—	3,735	0.3864%
1935	—	3,252	0.3346%
1936	—	3,131	0.325%
1937	—	2,937	0.2981%
1938	—	2,971	0.2902%
1939	—	2,834	0.2786%
1940	—	2,731	0.2569%
1941	—	2,711	0.2409%
1942	—	2,728	0.216%
1943	—	2,650	0.203%
1944	—	2,307	0.1861%
1945	—	2,124	0.1742%
1946	—	2,207	0.1496%
1947	—	2,334	0.1398%
1948	—	2,207	0.1383%
1949	—	2,146	0.1334%
1950	—	2,072	0.1287%
1951	—	1,943	0.1146%
1952	—	1,844	0.1056%
1953	—	1,771	0.1001%
1954	—	1,706	0.0933%
1955	—	1,561	0.0849%
1956	—	1,446	0.0766%
1957	—	1,408	0.0732%
1958	—	1,252	0.0662%
1959	—	1,138	0.0599%
1960	—	1,132	0.0597%
1961	—	1,171	0.062%
1962	—	1,067	0.0581%
1963	—	1,011	0.0563%
1964	—	929	0.0528%
1965	—	833	0.0509%
1966	—	789	0.0505%
1967	—	690	0.0455%
1968	—	656	0.0437%
1969	—	659	0.0428%
1970	—	633	0.0398%
1971	—	557	0.0371%
1972	—	538	0.0395%
1973	—	491	0.0379%
1974	—	492	0.0379%
1975	—	392	0.0305%
1976	—	369	0.0286%
1977	—	397	0.0295%
1978	—	401	0.0298%
1979	—	392	0.0278%
1980	—	447	0.0306%
1981	—	433	0.0295%
1982	—	451	0.0302%
1983	—	420	0.0285%
1984	—	385	0.0259%
1985	—	363	0.0239%
1986	—	394	0.0261%
1987	—	380	0.0249%
1988	—	448	0.0287%
1989	—	477	0.0296%
1990	—	528	0.0319%
1991	—	550	0.0337%
1992	—	540	0.0338%
1993	—	556	0.0357%
1994	—	586	0.0382%
1995	—	666	0.0442%
1996	—	691	0.0461%
1997	—	753	0.0509%
1998	—	799	0.0534%
1999	—	957	0.0639%
2000	—	1,100	0.072%
2001	—	1,108	0.0735%
2002	—	1,173	0.0783%
2003	—	1,225	0.0805%
2004	—	1,311	0.086%
2005	—	1,470	0.0961%
2006	—	1,536	0.0981%
2007	—	1,549	0.0982%
2008	—	1,606	0.1039%
2009	—	1,611	0.1078%
2010	—	1,668	0.1157%
2011	—	1,721	0.1208%
2012	—	1,946	0.1366%
2013	—	2,006	0.1409%
2014	—	2,275	0.1561%
2015	—	2,499	0.1717%
2016	—	2,777	0.1926%
2017	—	2,791	0.2%
2018	—	3,023	0.22%
2019	—	3,076	0.2272%
2020	—	2,923	0.2296%
2021	—	3,152	0.2578%
2022	—	3,236	0.2453%
2023	—	3,358	0.2595%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Josephine

If you like Josephine, you’ll love these other names like Josephine.

What names are diminutives of Josephine?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Josephine sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Josephine, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender
Jo	A diminutive form of Josephine.	American
Josie	God will increase	English

What names are variants of Josephine?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Josephine.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Fifi	A short form of Fifine, which is a French diminutive of Josephine.	French
Fifine	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Fina	Short form of Josefina	Italian, Spanish
Finetta	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Finette	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Guiseppina	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Jo	A diminutive form of Josephine.	American
Joette	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Joey	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Joline	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josana	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josanna	Jehovah increases	Hebrew

Josanne	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josee	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josefa	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josefena	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josefene	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josefina	The Lord adds; Jehovah increases	Italian
Josefine	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josepha	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josephe	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josephene	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josephina	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josephyna	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josephyne	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josetta	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josette	Jehovah increases	Hebrew

Josey	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josiane	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josianna	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josianne	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Josie	God will increase	English
Josy	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Jozsa	Jehovah increases	Hebrew

Lists With Josephine

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Josephine.

Siblings of Josephine

Mamas with kids named Josephine also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Nathaly	Birthday	Latin
Theresa	Late summer	Greek
Evangelia	Good news	Greek
Eleanor	Of unknown meaning	English
Elizabeth	God is my oath	Hebrew
Benjamin	A favorite son	Hebrew

Share Your Thoughts

32 Comments

Lindsay Jul 9 at 7:36 am

Josephine was my husband’s beloved great grandmother who passed before I met him, but he always tells stories about how wonderful, strong, and smart she was. We knew we would name our first daughter Josephine years before she was even born.

Reply
JoKatherine Jul 9 at 2:46 pm

I am named for my maternal grandmother. My parents both loved the name Katherine and combined the two!
I have never heard my name before anywhere!
If someone has the name or has heard it, please let me know!

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Lexi Jan 8 at 9:07 pm

Joseph is a family name on dad’s side, so we wanted to honor that. Josephine means “God will increase”, so we love the meaning. And we love the nickname options – Jo, Josie, Joey. Also, not something we thought about when choosing the name, but Josie has lots of cute rhyming words – cozy, rosy, toesie, nosy, etc.

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Tess Oct 30 at 9:37 am

She is named after her Grandmother! It’s a blessing to honor my husband this way by naming her after his mother.

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Samy Oct 16 at 11:23 am

We named her after Saint Joseph, the husband to Mary the mother of God. We are catholic and loved the symbolism of a Holy Family. St Joseph is often depicted in art with a Lily, so her name is Josephine Lily. I also love the classic Little Women character and was a nanny for a family of 9 kids and Josephine was one of the littles I got to take care of. Just a special, classic name that I can tell her all about when she gets older.

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Heather Oct 5 at 4:57 pm

We chose Josephine because it means “Yahweh will grow”. Her middle name is Joy. Yahweh will grow joy in our little one.

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- Josephine Nnamuguz Feb 26 at 6:29 am
  
  AM Josephine and i think God will grow and increase everything in my life
  
  Reply
Margo Sep 17 at 9:06 am

We love the meaning and history behind Josephine. As Christ followers, we appreciate and honor our Hebrew roots. We also love nicknames and many can come from this name!

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Bonnie Jun 1 at 5:19 am

Josephine Joanne “Jojo”

Josephine after St Joseph and St Josephine
Joanne after my grandma
Jojo for short!

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Tiffany May 24 at 7:02 pm

Sounds like a good name for a future leader

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Isabel Mar 29 at 9:14 am

Growing up my mother loved the name and I grew to love it too. My husband liked it alot so the decision was easy. I love how elegant and old fashioned it is and it’s not a name you hear that often anymore.

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Mary Mar 24 at 4:53 pm

Josephine Rose I’m home of St Joseph in all he has done for our family. Using the nickname Josie which we love, especially how it goes with our first daughter Ellie (Elizabeth). Dislike how long it is and then some people think it’s old sounding.

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Josephine Jan 17 at 8:16 pm

My name is Josephine. I have two sons, Nathaniel and Benjamin. I’m currently pregnant with a baby girl due soon. I’m having an extremely difficult time choosing a name that I love as much as my own. My mother named me after her grandmother.

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Anna Dec 4 at 8:33 pm

I chose Josephine because I have come to love all of the Joseph’s in the Bible. Initially I didn’t like the idea of Josephine and was bummed I couldn’t use the name Joseph for this child as it’s a girl, but my husband pointed out the nickname “Josie” and it really changed my mind. In addition to that, St. Josephine Bakhita has an amazing story so using her name is a way to call upon her intercession.

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Jouzy Oct 15 at 6:38 am

I named myself after my paternal grandfather. It’s actually a baptismal name I choosed because of the love I had for him (grandpa). He was always happy, smiling and accommodating even in the face of tribulations. Granny is no more but i still see that smiling face and this encourages me to keep moving….
???

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Anne Jul 20 at 11:54 am

We chose this name after Saint Josephine. Her story really moved me the first time I read about it. I also liked how traditional the name was, but still able to have nicknames if we wanted.

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Whitney May 25 at 4:09 am

Josephine is my own grandmother’s middle name (baby’s great grandmother). She was like another parent to me growing up and was so excited to meet her first great grandchild. Unfortunately we lost her very suddenly 1 week before baby’s arrival. It was always the plan to use this name if we had a baby girl and now it feels extra special.

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findmeout Dec 27 at 5:34 pm

THATS MY NAME!

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Nicole Oct 15 at 9:43 am

My husband and I love the nickname Josie… I wanted a name with a good meaning behind it that could be used in the original form or a shortened form. Josephine means “God will increase”. We tried for 8.5 years to conceive, the Drs basically told us 6 years ago that we would probably never have our own biological child because my body wasn’t producing eggs, not even with fertility drugs. We decided to leave it up to God… and He provided… He increased our family and our faith/trust in Him!

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Rebecca Aug 27 at 7:48 am

Cute nickname- Josie
Beautiful full name
Religous- St. Joseph

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Beth Jul 2 at 8:02 am

grandmothers name.

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Amy Jan 29 at 9:26 am

My husband and I tried to get pregnant for 8 months before our positive. This is our second child and we didn’t have any wait with our first, so we were becoming discouraged. While waiting and praying for another child I came across the name Josephine. In Hebrew it means “Jehovah increases,” I just knew if The Lord blessed us again with a child it would be with sweet Josephine.

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- Hallelujah, am Josephine, I receive all my babies in Jesus name. Dec 8 at 8:17 pm
  
  I believe I shall get pregnant this month and put to birth again, my first child is now 10, my name is Jehovah will increase, Josephine, please join in prayer ?
  
  Reply
Sarah Jan 1 at 10:34 pm

Two major reasons:
1) the name means “God will increase or add”. I love this and believe he added to our lives greatly when he gave us our little girl. She has brought so much joy into our lives. She is the greatest gift and an amazing addition to our family.
2) I have always loved Little Women. Jo March is my favorite character. I love her charisma and her sense of adventure. She is everything in so many ways I’d hope for my daughter to be: full of life and spirit, fun, creative, adventurous, bold, unique, beautiful in mind and soul, and an amazing sister, friend, daughter, etc. I love the nickname Jo for a girl, too.

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Rachel Dec 12 at 3:42 am

We named her after her great great grandmother. We fell in love with calling her Josie for short. And we also loved the meaning of the name “God will increase”

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- Josephine Olufunke Ogunjobi Dec 23 at 4:09 am
  
  I thank God for the name I bear.
  Josephine.
  I was told my parents waited for years after their first born before God gave me to them. Immediately after me no waiting again till they completed the 6 children they had.
  Even the way things happen in situations in my life, I convinced that I am really what my name is.
  
  Reply
Rachel Oct 11 at 2:16 pm

She named after her great great Grandma…we love her name so much

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Sara Jun 14 at 6:09 am

Named after St. Josephine Bakhita, we call her Jo for short!

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Alyssa Sep 22 at 10:03 pm

Her name just came to me and was the only name I thought about. I knew I had great aunts on both sides of my ancestral lineage with the name Josephine and/or Josephina. Plus, we ended up finding out that her father’s great grandmother was named Josephine. It was just perfect!

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Adiya Apr 23 at 4:21 pm

We chose Josephine because we wanted something old school but not popular. Also, the book Little Women is a huge part of my life (read it every year, watch the movie the first snow day of every year with apple crisp) so when we were rethinking our original name, I suggested Josephine and my husband loved it. As he said good mix of feminine and masculine. We love it and thought we chose wisely!

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Danielle Apr 23 at 9:37 am

Family Name

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Norma Apr 12 at 8:15 am

Named after my mother. Her name is a version of Joseph which means”God will add”. Her middle name is Nadine which means hope. Her initials are my husband’s and mine.

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Josephine