Josephine
Top 1000
About Josephine
Josephine, with its large measure of class and character and a gently offbeat quality, has been on a gentle uphill climb in the US for over 30 years, now ranking in the Top 100. With an intriguing number of vivacious nicknames, from Jo to Josie to Fifi to Posy, Josephine is a Nameberry favorite.
Josephine is the feminine form of Joseph, a name ultimately derived from the Hebrew Yosef, meaning "Jehovah increases." In French, it has an accent over the first E, which was omitted in the English, German, and Dutch translations of the name. Empress Joséphine du Beauharnais was born Marie-Josephe-Rose, but called Josephine by her husband, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Josephine Baker (born Freda), the American-French singer, dancer, and civil rights activist, is a potential namesake.
Some of the Josephines in literature and recent pop culture are known by their nicknames — the admirably headstrong Jo in Little Women, Joey Potter (played by Katie Holmes) in Dawson's Creek, and Josie of Josie and the Pussycats. In Some Like it Hot, Josephine was the nom de femme of Tony Curtis.
Josephines have been the subjects of countless songs, performed by artists ranging from Fats Domino to Tori Amos to the Black Crowes.
Pronounced JO-suh-feen.
As of October 2026, Josephine ranked #53 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #21 in 1916, Nameberry popularity #55.
Editor's take: The name Josephine is a girl's name of French origin meaning "Jehovah increases".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #147 | 2,286 | 1,279.7 |
| 2015 | #131 | 2,505 | 1,403.3 |
| 2016 | #114 | 2,797 | 1,578.4 |
| 2017 | #107 | 2,822 | 1,634.6 |
| 2018 | #91 | 3,048 | 1,791.8 |
| 2019 | #89 | 3,122 | 1,860.1 |
| 2020 | #87 | 3,057 | 1,891.1 |
| 2021 | #72 | 3,389 | 2,065.4 |
| 2022 | #70 | 3,263 | 1,989.5 |
| 2023 | #64 | 3,366 | 2,097.7 |
| 2024 | #56 | 3,746 | 2,312.1 |
| 2025 | #53 | 4,126 | 2,567.1 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Josephine.
- Beatrice
- Matilda
- Cecilia
- Louisa
- Margaret
- Eliza
- Louise
- Jane
- Penelope
- Esther
- Juliet
- Lydia
- Felicity
- Florence
- Edith
- Phoebe
- Genevieve
- Ada
- Clara
- Vivian
Josephine on lists
Famous Josephines
- Josephine de Beauharnais (born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie)
Empress of France, wife of Napoleon
- Josephine of Leuchtenberg
Queen of Sweden and Norway
- Joséphine
Charlotte Stéphanie Ingeborg Elisabeth Marie,José Marguerite Astrid, Princess of Belgium; Grand Duchess consort of Jean of Luxembourg
- Josephine Friederike Luise
Princess of Baden; Princess of Hohenzollern
- Joséphine Caroline Marie Albertine
Princess of Belgium
- (Marie) Joséphine Thérèse
Princess of Lorraine; Princess of Carignan
- Josephine Elizabeth Butler
English feminist and reformer
- Josephine Foster
American folk singer
- Josephine Clara Goldmark
American reformer
- (Freda) Josephine Baker
American singer/dancer/actress
- Joséphine Marie Stéphanie Victoire
Princess of Belgium; twin of sister Henriette Marie Charlotte Antoinette; daughter of Princes Philippe of Flanders
- Josephine Tey
pen name of Scottish novelist Elizabeth Mackintosh
- Josephine Siao
Hong Kong actress
- Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin
American journalist
- Josephine Preston Peabody
American writer
- Josephine Skriver
Danish model
- Josephine "Josie" Griffiths
English actress
- Josephine Tomic
Australian cyclist
- Josephine "Josie" Cohan Niblo
American actress
- Josephine Archer Cameron (b. 1993)
daughter of director James Cameron and actress Linda Hamilton
- Josephine Colette Almond (b. 2006)
Daughter of author Steve Almond
- Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda (b. 2011)
Princess of Denmark; Countess of Monpezat; daughter of Crown Prince Frederik; twin of brother Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander
- Josephine Elizabeth Weil
Adelstein (b. 2011), daughter of actress Liza Weil and Paul Adelstein
- Josephine Kate Gavigan (b. 2016)
daughter of actress Jessica Capshaw
- Joséphine Jobert
French actress and singer
- Josephine Langford
Australian actress
Josephine in pop culture
- Josephine "Jo" March
character in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"
- Josephine "Josie" McCoy
character in the "Josie and the Pussycats" series, the Archie comics, and the TV show Riverdale
- Josephine "Joey" Potter
character on TV's "Dawson's Creek"
- Josephine LaRue
character on TV's "The Originals"
- Dr. Josephine "Jo" Wilson
character on TV's "Grey's Anatomy"
- Josephine "Josie" Alibrandi
character in Melina Marchetta's "Looking for Alibrandi"
- Josephine Barry
character in L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series
- Josephine Muscat
character in Joanne Harris' "Chocolat"
- Aunt Josephine Anwhistle
character from Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events"
- Grandma Josephine
character in Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
- Josephine "Josie" Cormier
character in "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult
- Josephine "Josie" Griffin
character in "Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire" by Heather Swain
- Josephine "Josie" Jones
character on British TV series "Fresh Meat"
- Josephine Bell
character in "The House Girl" by Tara Conklin
- Josephine Cherette Montilyet
a major character in the video game "Dragon Age: Inquisition"
- Josephine Delamarre
main character on French TV's "Joséphine, ange gardien"
- Josephine "Josie" Sheridan
character in Erin McCahan's "Love and Other Foreign Words"
- "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine
" 1911 popular song written by Fred Fisher and Alfred Bryan
- "Josephine
" song by Brandi Carlile
- "Josephine
" song by Stefie Shock
- Josephine "Josie
" Abaddon's vessel on "Supernatural"
- Josephine "Joey" Mullen
character in "Watching you" a novel by Lisa Jewell
- Josephine "Jo" Chambers
main character in series "A Girl Named Jo"
Variations & nicknames
- SeosaimhínIrish Gaelic
- JosefanaSpanish
- GiuseppinaItalian
- HosefinaSpanish
- JosefineGerman
- JózefinaPolish
- JosefinaSpanish
More nicknames
- Sephie