Josephine
Josephine was given to 4,126 girls in 2025, #53 among girls’ names; 332,458 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 118,000 Americans named Josephine and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (36% of everyone recorded); the median is 27 years old and half are between 9 and 71.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Josephine by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Josephine mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Josephine is “a female given name from French.”
From French Joséphine, diminutive of Josèphe, feminine form of Joseph. By surface analysis, Joseph + -ine. Popularized in English by Josephine Bonaparte, the empress of Napoleonic France.
/ˈd͡ʒoʊ.sə.fiːn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Josephine?
#53 among girls’ names, 2025
Josephine rose from #131 in 2015 to #53 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 1.4 to 2.6 per 1,000.
8,709 babies in 1918, the peak
Josephine peaked in 1918, when 8,709 babies were given it (8,682 girls, #24 among girls’ names). The 4,126 births of 2025 are 47% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,126 | #53 | 2.6 |
| 2024 | 3,765 | #56 | 2.3 |
| 2023 | 3,371 | #64 | 2.1 |
| 2022 | 3,266 | #70 | 2.0 |
| 2021 | 3,391 | #72 | 2.1 |
| 2020 | 3,057 | #87 | 1.9 |
| 2019 | 3,123 | #90 | 1.9 |
| 2018 | 3,050 | #91 | 1.8 |
| 2017 | 2,823 | #107 | 1.6 |
| 2016 | 2,797 | #114 | 1.6 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,505 | #131 | 1.4 |
| 2014 | 2,286 | #147 | 1.3 |
| 2013 | 2,012 | #160 | 1.1 |
| 2012 | 1,957 | #160 | 1.1 |
| 2011 | 1,730 | #182 | 1.0 |
| 2010 | 1,677 | #185 | 0.94 |
| 2009 | 1,628 | #201 | 0.89 |
| 2008 | 1,635 | #208 | 0.86 |
| 2007 | 1,562 | #223 | 0.81 |
| 2006 | 1,548 | #221 | 0.81 |
| 2005 | 1,490 | #229 | 0.81 |
| 2004 | 1,337 | #242 | 0.73 |
| 2003 | 1,257 | #258 | 0.69 |
| 2002 | 1,198 | #264 | 0.67 |
| 2001 | 1,153 | #275 | 0.64 |
| 2000 | 1,116 | #288 | 0.61 |
| 1999 | 989 | #312 | 0.56 |
| 1998 | 840 | #347 | 0.48 |
| 1997 | 784 | #353 | 0.45 |
| 1996 | 725 | #371 | 0.41 |
| 1995 | 700 | #376 | 0.40 |
| 1994 | 648 | #390 | 0.36 |
| 1993 | 596 | #419 | 0.33 |
| 1992 | 591 | #427 | 0.32 |
| 1991 | 607 | #421 | 0.32 |
| 1990 | 579 | #434 | 0.30 |
| 1989 | 527 | #459 | 0.29 |
| 1988 | 503 | #451 | 0.28 |
| 1987 | 436 | #498 | 0.25 |
| 1986 | 456 | #470 | 0.27 |
| 1985 | 423 | #485 | 0.25 |
| 1984 | 437 | #472 | 0.26 |
| 1983 | 480 | #438 | 0.29 |
| 1982 | 491 | #440 | 0.29 |
| 1981 | 477 | #451 | 0.29 |
| 1980 | 502 | #430 | 0.30 |
| 1979 | 437 | #462 | 0.27 |
| 1978 | 457 | #438 | 0.30 |
| 1977 | 442 | #452 | 0.29 |
| 1976 | 431 | #449 | 0.29 |
| 1975 | 456 | #434 | 0.31 |
| 1974 | 536 | #389 | 0.37 |
| 1973 | 535 | #383 | 0.37 |
| 1972 | 580 | #373 | 0.38 |
| 1971 | 603 | #381 | 0.36 |
| 1970 | 677 | #363 | 0.39 |
| 1969 | 699 | #338 | 0.41 |
| 1968 | 693 | #332 | 0.42 |
| 1967 | 744 | #319 | 0.45 |
| 1966 | 838 | #306 | 0.50 |
| 1965 | 863 | #309 | 0.49 |
| 1964 | 962 | #297 | 0.51 |
| 1963 | 1,054 | #281 | 0.55 |
| 1962 | 1,103 | #269 | 0.56 |
| 1961 | 1,204 | #258 | 0.60 |
| 1960 | 1,157 | #263 | 0.57 |
| 1959 | 1,177 | #257 | 0.58 |
| 1958 | 1,274 | #239 | 0.63 |
| 1957 | 1,442 | #221 | 0.71 |
| 1956 | 1,485 | #210 | 0.74 |
| 1955 | 1,595 | #199 | 0.82 |
| 1954 | 1,719 | #186 | 0.89 |
| 1953 | 1,799 | #172 | 1.0 |
| 1952 | 1,862 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1951 | 1,966 | #157 | 1.1 |
| 1950 | 2,093 | #146 | 1.2 |
| 1949 | 2,163 | #143 | 1.3 |
| 1948 | 2,230 | #134 | 1.3 |
| 1947 | 2,351 | #133 | 1.3 |
| 1946 | 2,228 | #127 | 1.4 |
| 1945 | 2,146 | #120 | 1.6 |
| 1944 | 2,324 | #115 | 1.8 |
| 1943 | 2,664 | #108 | 1.9 |
| 1942 | 2,748 | #100 | 2.0 |
| 1941 | 2,726 | #92 | 2.3 |
| 1940 | 2,744 | #89 | 2.4 |
| 1939 | 2,837 | #84 | 2.6 |
| 1938 | 2,978 | #83 | 2.7 |
| 1937 | 2,942 | #82 | 2.8 |
| 1936 | 3,141 | #77 | 3.0 |
| 1935 | 3,262 | #75 | 3.1 |
| 1934 | 3,742 | #60 | 3.6 |
| 1933 | 3,569 | #62 | 3.5 |
| 1932 | 4,095 | #57 | 3.8 |
| 1931 | 4,497 | #51 | 4.2 |
| 1930 | 4,988 | #49 | 4.4 |
| 1929 | 5,298 | #45 | 4.7 |
| 1928 | 5,671 | #42 | 4.9 |
| 1927 | 6,108 | #39 | 5.1 |
| 1926 | 6,410 | #37 | 5.4 |
| 1925 | 6,810 | #36 | 5.6 |
| 1924 | 7,274 | #34 | 5.8 |
| 1923 | 7,560 | #30 | 6.3 |
| 1922 | 7,864 | #27 | 6.5 |
| 1921 | 8,135 | #28 | 6.6 |
| 1920 | 8,093 | #28 | 6.8 |
| 1919 | 8,104 | #26 | 7.2 |
| 1918 | 8,682 | #24 | 7.5 |
| 1917 | 8,326 | #21 | 7.7 |
| 1916 | 8,127 | #21 | 7.8 |
| 1915 | 7,606 | #22 | 7.7 |
| 1914 | 5,896 | #23 | 7.7 |
| 1913 | 4,822 | #24 | 7.7 |
| 1912 | 3,980 | #28 | 7.1 |
| 1911 | 3,011 | #29 | 7.2 |
| 1910 | 2,801 | #30 | 7.1 |
| 1909 | 2,416 | #31 | 7.0 |
| 1908 | 2,389 | #28 | 7.1 |
| 1907 | 2,156 | #33 | 6.8 |
| 1906 | 1,900 | #38 | 6.4 |
| 1905 | 1,894 | #37 | 6.5 |
| 1904 | 1,701 | #40 | 6.2 |
| 1903 | 1,587 | #40 | 6.1 |
| 1902 | 1,565 | #42 | 5.9 |
| 1901 | 1,434 | #43 | 6.0 |
| 1900 | 1,743 | #47 | 5.8 |
| 1899 | 1,388 | #44 | 6.0 |
| 1898 | 1,425 | #46 | 5.5 |
| 1897 | 1,267 | #47 | 5.4 |
| 1896 | 1,256 | #50 | 5.3 |
| 1895 | 1,334 | #47 | 5.7 |
| 1894 | 1,256 | #48 | 5.6 |
| 1893 | 1,178 | #50 | 5.5 |
| 1892 | 1,210 | #49 | 5.7 |
| 1891 | 1,031 | #49 | 5.6 |
| 1890 | 1,118 | #49 | 5.9 |
| 1889 | 1,047 | #49 | 5.9 |
| 1888 | 1,001 | #49 | 5.6 |
| 1887 | 815 | #50 | 5.6 |
| 1886 | 844 | #47 | 5.8 |
| 1885 | 783 | #48 | 5.9 |
| 1884 | 800 | #45 | 6.2 |
| 1883 | 697 | #46 | 6.2 |
| 1882 | 638 | #49 | 5.9 |
| 1881 | 563 | #48 | 6.1 |
| 1880 | 544 | #50 | 6.0 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Josephine a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Josephine has been given almost only to girls: 991 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Josephine: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Josephine, and how old are they?
118,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 36% of the 332,458 Americans ever recorded as Josephine. The median Josephine alive today is 27 years old; half are between 9 and 71.
The 2020 Census counted 123,986 people named Josephine (123,791 women and girls, 195 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 115,904 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 15,600 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 23,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 8,770 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 8,460 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 21,700 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 39,300 |
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 Josephine born?
The states with the most babies named Josephine are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 31% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 44,760 | #66 | 1.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 26,796 | #28 | 1.3× |
| California | 18,503 | #98 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 16,561 | #45 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 14,957 | #81 | 0.8× |
| New Jersey | 13,314 | #86 | 1.5× |
| Ohio | 11,812 | #26 | 0.8× |
| Massachusetts | 10,680 | #29 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 10,183 | #17 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 7,044 | #54 | 0.7× |
Where Josephine is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Josephine is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.8 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 Josephine 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 984,111 babies since 1880, Josephine is the second most given (34% of them). In 2025 it was given to 4,126 of their 4,532 babies (91%), the most given that year.
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 Josephine
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 Josephine and names like it
- Compare Josephine and JoeBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sJosephine peaked in 1918.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Josephine since 1910.
- French namesWiktionary’s origin for Josephine: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Josephine.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Josephine alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with JMost given first.