Girls' name · since 1881

Josefa

Since 1881, U.S. Social Security records show 4,062 babies named Josefa, peaking in 1925. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.

#2,953 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#8,374 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
4,062
born since 1881
1920s
peak decade

4,062 babies have been named Josefa since 1881, making it today's #8374 girls' name.

Social Security Administration records show Josefa recorded 4,062 times among girls since 1881, holding rank #8374 nationally today, ahead of 52% of girls, peaking in the 1920s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1881 to 2025.

  • #2,953 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #8,374 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 4,062 born since 1881
  • 1920s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Josefa ranks #2,953 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,374 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 4,062 born since 1881, peaking in the 1920s.

#2,953 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#8,374 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
4,062
born since 1881
1920s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%51.5%
Josefa vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Josefa's 4,062 recorded births place it above 95.91% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

6 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

6 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.

How Josefa compares

4,062 Top 15% higher than 85% of 17,297 names currently given to girls

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Josefa's all-time total is 11x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Josefa Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 4,062 376 567,345
Peak-year births 84 21 19,840

Josefa's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Josefa splits its recorded history at 1953: 34% of all births land in the more recent half, 66% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1881 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1925 peak of 84 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Josefa popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1881–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1925)
84
Annual births at peak, across 145 years of records
020406080100 188119001919193819571976199520142025 12

Josefa by decade

1920s is the heaviest window (726 births, 18% of the file).

1920s was Josefa's strongest decade.

726 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 18% of all-time use.

Josefa births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1920s at 726 births (18% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Josefa compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Josefa's total volume

Josefa vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -137, 2.6%-100, 1.9%-140, 3.6%-33, 9.2%-49, 4.8%-92, 3.8%-57, 8.4%-59, 6.9%-68, 3.4%-140, 9.7%-97, 14.1%-54, 4.9%-39, 5.3%-65, 3.8%-143, 1.7%Josefa-145, 2.1%Josefa
Josefa vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Josefa by state

Where Josefa concentrates geographically, total births since 1881

Regionally concentrated
Top 6 states by recorded births for the name Josefa
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
2,150 52.9%
#2 California
178 4.4%
#3 New Mexico
53 1.3%
#4 Arizona
27 0.7%
#5 New York
23 0.6%
#6 Illinois
11 0.3%
Texas share of Josefa's total US births 52.9%
Even split

2,150 of 4,062 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 6 reporting states.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Josefa? ▼
4,062 babies have been named Josefa since 1881. All-time, it sits at #2,953 of 72,339 girls' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #8,374 of 17,297 among girls. The peak year was 1925 with 84 births.
Where does Josefa sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Josefa ranks #2,953 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,374 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Josefa most popular? ▼
Josefa was most popular in the 1920s decade with 726 total births. The single peak year was 1925.
Where is Josefa most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Josefa are Texas (2,150 births), California (178 births), New Mexico (53 births).
How long has the name Josefa been used? ▼
Records for Josefa go back to 1881, giving 145 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Josefa? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Josephine, Josie, Joselyn, Josefina, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Josefa's data

  • Josefa's decade-level peak was the 1920s (726 total births); usage has since declined to 66 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • Texas records the most Josefas (2,150 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Josefa

Nearby Names Like Josefa

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Josefa

Josephine Girl
#53 331,467 births
Josie Girl
#82 75,370 births
Joselyn Girl
#1503 18,214 births
Josefina Girl
#1881 13,932 births
Joslyn Girl
#2727 11,227 births

Compare Josefa side by side: Josefa vs Josephine Josefa vs Josie Josefa vs Joselyn

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Josefa

Gail #8373
201,746 births · Peak 1951
Lilie #8375
1,473 births · Peak 2008
Evalena #8372
1,378 births · Peak 1921
Vashti #8376
2,355 births · Peak 1922
Rella #8371
1,325 births · Peak 1921
Lala #8377
1,778 births · Peak 1921
Elmina #8370
834 births · Peak 1916
Lalia #8378
351 births · Peak 2009

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Josefa: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1881–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Josefa draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.