Josephine
Josephine is a girls' name of French origin meaning “God will increase.” It ranked #53 in the United States in 2025. Josephine is the French feminine form of Joseph.
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how do you pronounce Josephine?
JO-seh-feen
where does the name Josephine come from?
A French feminine form of Joseph, from the Hebrew Yosef, meaning he will add or may God increase. French built it by adding the diminutive -ine, so the construction parallels Adeline and Caroline.
Empress Josephine de Beauharnais, Napoleon's first wife, gave it romantic grandeur. Jo March from 'Little Women' added literary spunk. It has been steadily climbing into the top 50.
how popular is this name?
Josephine has appeared in the US top 1,000 in 146 years since 1880. It peaked at #21 in 1916, and ranked #53 in 2025.
See the milestone years
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2025 | #53 |
| 2024 | #56 |
| 2023 | #64 |
| 2022 | #70 |
| 2021 | #72 |
| 2020 | #87 |
| 2019 | #90 |
| 2018 | #91 |
| 2017 | #107 |
| 2016 | #114 |
| 2010 | #185 |
| 2000 | #287 |
| 1990 | #435 |
| 1980 | #430 |
| 1970 | #363 |
| 1960 | #263 |
| 1950 | #146 |
| 1940 | #89 |
| 1930 | #49 |
| 1920 | #28 |
| 1916 | #21 |
| 1910 | #30 |
| 1900 | #47 |
| 1890 | #49 |
| 1880 | #50 |
Source: SSA National Baby Names Dataset (through 2025). Years absent from the table are years Josephine fell outside the top 1,000.
the history of Josephine
Joséphine de Beauharnais, first wife of Napoleon and Empress of the French, made the name fashionable across nineteenth-century Europe. Josephine Baker gave it a very different life in the twentieth — dancer, wartime agent for the French Resistance, and civil rights campaigner, reinterred in the Panthéon in 2021. The name returned to the American top hundred after 2000.
who are famous people named Josephine?
- Josephine Bonaparte (Empress of France)
- Josephine Baker (American-French entertainer)
- Jo March (Little Women character)
what are the nicknames and variants of Josephine?
Nicknames
Variants around the world
what names are similar to Josephine?
what names go well with Josephine?
Sibling names that share Josephine's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.
quick answers about Josephine
What does the name Josephine mean?
Josephine means “God will increase”.
What is the origin of the name Josephine?
Josephine comes from the French naming tradition. Related forms include Giuseppina, Josefina and Joséphine.
How popular is the name Josephine?
Josephine ranked #53 in the US in 2025, according to Social Security data. Its best year was 1916, at #21, and it has spent 146 years in the top 1,000 since 1880.
Is Josephine a boy or girl name?
Josephine is primarily a girls' name.
How do you pronounce Josephine?
Josephine is pronounced JO-seh-feen, with 3 syllables.
Last updated · Curated by HushName editorial
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