Josefa
Josefa was given to 12 girls in 2025, #8,588 among girls’ names; 4,062 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,660 Americans named Josefa and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (41% of everyone recorded); the median is 57 years old and half are between 37 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Josefa by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Josefa mean?
Wiktionary, Spanish section
Josefa is “a female given name”
/xoˈsefa/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Spanish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Josefa?
#8,588 among girls’ names, 2025
Josefa rose from #15,358 in 2015 to #8,588 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 3.4 to 7.5 per million.
84 babies in 1925, the peak
Josefa peaked in 1925, when 84 girls were given it, #811 among girls’ names. The 12 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #8,588 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 18 | #6,509 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 9 | #10,696 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 13 | #8,248 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 8 | #11,588 | under 0.01 |
| 2020 | 6 | #14,204 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 5 | #16,662 | under 0.01 |
| 2018 | 16 | #7,233 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 9 | #11,109 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 10 | #10,439 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 6 | #15,358 | under 0.01 |
| 2014 | 6 | #15,496 | under 0.01 |
| 2013 | 6 | #15,481 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 11 | #10,034 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 13 | #8,870 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 9 | #11,706 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 6 | #16,123 | under 0.01 |
| 2008 | 16 | #7,906 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 12 | #9,825 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 6 | #16,038 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 9 | #11,319 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 9 | #11,127 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 9 | #10,818 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 14 | #7,604 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 12 | #8,443 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 10 | #9,488 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 20 | #5,314 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 13 | #7,302 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 10 | #8,639 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 16 | #5,900 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 18 | #5,300 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 17 | #5,555 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 17 | #5,525 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 11 | #7,740 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 16 | #5,776 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 19 | #4,941 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 24 | #4,054 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 16 | #5,145 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 13 | #5,733 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 12 | #5,927 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 26 | #3,361 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 18 | #4,227 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 26 | #3,187 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 21 | #3,832 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 23 | #3,562 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 18 | #4,211 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 34 | #2,642 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 13 | #5,039 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 25 | #3,108 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 21 | #3,336 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 17 | #3,838 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 20 | #3,360 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 22 | #3,061 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 27 | #2,629 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 30 | #2,508 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 30 | #2,470 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 31 | #2,320 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 25 | #2,507 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 23 | #2,590 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 29 | #2,217 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 23 | #2,566 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 38 | #1,929 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 27 | #2,328 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 24 | #2,492 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 29 | #2,216 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 29 | #2,167 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 26 | #2,258 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 30 | #2,042 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 32 | #1,938 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 32 | #1,909 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 29 | #1,997 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 45 | #1,511 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 38 | #1,596 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 33 | #1,724 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 39 | #1,512 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 39 | #1,484 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 37 | #1,524 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 48 | #1,336 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 37 | #1,561 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 40 | #1,382 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 26 | #1,632 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 31 | #1,472 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 34 | #1,431 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 34 | #1,399 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 40 | #1,197 | 0.03 |
| 1940 | 45 | #1,084 | 0.04 |
| 1939 | 35 | #1,253 | 0.03 |
| 1938 | 48 | #1,036 | 0.04 |
| 1937 | 41 | #1,124 | 0.04 |
| 1936 | 38 | #1,156 | 0.04 |
| 1935 | 45 | #1,033 | 0.04 |
| 1934 | 55 | #930 | 0.05 |
| 1933 | 44 | #1,056 | 0.04 |
| 1932 | 58 | #926 | 0.05 |
| 1931 | 71 | #807 | 0.07 |
| 1930 | 63 | #922 | 0.06 |
| 1929 | 68 | #864 | 0.06 |
| 1928 | 74 | #842 | 0.06 |
| 1927 | 65 | #930 | 0.05 |
| 1926 | 71 | #883 | 0.06 |
| 1925 | 84 | #811 | 0.07 |
| 1924 | 79 | #847 | 0.06 |
| 1923 | 66 | #903 | 0.05 |
| 1922 | 81 | #811 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 72 | #870 | 0.06 |
| 1920 | 66 | #899 | 0.06 |
| 1919 | 66 | #861 | 0.06 |
| 1918 | 63 | #906 | 0.05 |
| 1917 | 56 | #930 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 40 | #1,121 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 57 | #867 | 0.06 |
| 1914 | 42 | #911 | 0.06 |
| 1913 | 38 | #859 | 0.06 |
| 1912 | 46 | #740 | 0.08 |
| 1911 | 39 | #701 | 0.09 |
| 1910 | 35 | #713 | 0.09 |
| 1909 | 28 | #767 | 0.08 |
| 1908 | 25 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1907 | 31 | #683 | 0.10 |
| 1906 | 30 | #671 | 0.10 |
| 1905 | 22 | #789 | 0.08 |
| 1904 | 21 | #790 | 0.08 |
| 1903 | 18 | #825 | 0.07 |
| 1902 | 17 | #859 | 0.06 |
| 1901 | 19 | #755 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 19 | #874 | 0.06 |
| 1899 | 11 | #1,003 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 20 | #761 | 0.08 |
| 1897 | 20 | #705 | 0.09 |
| 1896 | 21 | #694 | 0.09 |
| 1895 | 28 | #570 | 0.12 |
| 1894 | 17 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1893 | 19 | #673 | 0.09 |
| 1892 | 19 | #676 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 14 | #737 | 0.08 |
| 1890 | 23 | #554 | 0.12 |
| 1889 | 20 | #583 | 0.11 |
| 1888 | 8 | #991 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 11 | #714 | 0.08 |
| 1886 | 8 | #862 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 11 | #677 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 9 | #765 | 0.07 |
| 1883 | 6 | #868 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 10 | #617 | 0.09 |
| 1881 | 5 | #883 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Josefa a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Josefa has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 145 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Josefa: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Josefa, and how old are they?
1,660 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 41% of the 4,062 Americans ever recorded as Josefa. The median Josefa alive today is 57 years old; half are between 37 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 10,221 people named Josefa (10,146 women and girls, 75 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,853 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5.5 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 212 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 499 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 359 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 285 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 177 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 123 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Josefa born?
The states with the most babies named Josefa are Texas, California and New Mexico, with 98% of its births recorded by state since 1910; New Mexico is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2,150 | not ranked | 9.6× |
| California | 178 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| New Mexico | 53 | not ranked | 2.6× |
| Arizona | 27 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New York | 23 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Illinois | 11 | not ranked | 0.1× |
Where Josefa is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Josefa is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 9.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Josefa with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 4,469 babies since 1880, Josefa is the most given (91% of them).
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Josefa
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Josefa and names like it
- Compare Josefa and JosephaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sJosefa peaked in 1925.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Josefa since 1910.
- Spanish namesWiktionary’s origin for Josefa: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1925The year the most babies were named Josefa.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Josefa alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with JMost given first.