ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1880 First Year 2026 Last Year 1918 Peak Year #21 Peak Rank 335K Total Count 147 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Josephine What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Josephine is a female name. It is the English version of the French name JosĂ©phine, itself a female variant of the name Joseph, which is ultimately derived from the Hebrew name Yosef, meaning "he shall add/grow". Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 📖 ## The Story of Josephine Josephine first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 544 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1918, when 8,682 Josephines were born — ranking #24 that year. As of 2026, Josephine ranks #56 for baby girls with 3,769 births, rising sharply (+16% over the past five years). In total, more than 335K Josephines have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data ⭐ ## Notable people named Josephine A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia. * ●JosĂ©phine-Charlotte of Belgium (1927–2005), Princess of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg * ●Josephine of Leuchtenberg (1807–1876), Queen of Sweden * ●JosĂ©phine de Beauharnais (1763–1814), Empress of France, Queen Consort of Italy, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte * ●Princess JosĂ©phine of Lorraine (1753–1797), Princess of Carignano * ●Josephine of Rosenborg (1942–2013), Countess, member of Denmark's Royal Family * ●Princess Josephine of Baden (1813–1900), Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen * ●Princess JosĂ©phine Caroline of Belgium (1872–1958), wife of Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern * ●Princess Josephine of Denmark (born 2011), Danish princess Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine%5F%28given%5Fname%29) đŸŽ¶ ## Names that sound like Josephine Phonetically similar names — useful when Josephine is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Josphine](/josphine) * [Josefina](/josefina) * [Josephina](/josephina) * [Josefine](/josefine) * Josephson * [Josepha](/josepha) * [Joseph](/joseph) * [Josef](/josef) * [Joselyn](/joselyn) * Josephs * [Jason](/jason) * [Justine](/justine) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Josephine What does the name Josephine mean? Josephine is a female name. It is the English version of the French name JosĂ©phine, itself a female variant of the name Joseph, which is ultimately derived from the Hebrew name Yosef, meaning "he shall add/grow". How popular is Josephine in 2026? In 2026, Josephine ranks #56 among girls' names in the U.S., with 3,769 babies given the name that year. When was Josephine most popular? Josephine reached its peak popularity in 1918, ranking #21 that year with 8,682 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Josephine most popular? Josephine has historically been most popular in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Josephine. Is Josephine a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Josephine is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Josephine? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Josephine include Ellie, Penelope, Janice. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧ElliePeak #21](/ellie)[👧PenelopePeak #21](/penelope)[👧JanicePeak #21](/janice)[👧BrooklynPeak #21](/brooklyn)[👧CarriePeak #20](/carrie)[👧MaudePeak #20](/maude)[👧GertrudePeak #22](/gertrude)[👧NoraPeak #22](/nora) ## About the name Josephine Josephine is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 335K births in the dataset. Josephine's peak popularity came in 1918 when it ranked #21\. Use the chart and map above to compare Josephine's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1918 → ](/year/1918) * [ Names of the 1910s → ](/decade/1910s) * [ Names starting with "J" → ](/letter/j) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.