New on the App StoreSwipe baby names with your partner — match on names you both love.

Get the iPhone appDownload on the App Store
Nameberry Logo

Alternatives to Josephine

  1. Katherine
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "pure"
    • Description:

      Katherine is one of the oldest, most diverse, and all-around best names: it's powerful, feminine, royal, saintly, classic, popular, and adaptable. Long one of the top girls' names starting with K, Katherine has now been unseated on the popularity list by upstarts Kennedy and Kinsley, but a dip in popularity only adds to its charm.
  2. Josie
    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Josephine, feminine of Joseph, Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "Jehovah increases"
    • Description:

      Josie is jaunty and friendly: among the most winning of all nickname names. She's been on the Social Security list since records began being kept.
  3. Isabelle
    • Origin:

      French variation of Isabel
    • Meaning:

      "pledged to God"
    • Description:

      Isabelle is the French variation of Isabel, which emerged in the Middle ages as an Occitan form of Elizabeth. Medieval queens Isabella of Angoulême and Isabella of France helped popularize the name in the United Kingdom. Isobel is the Scottish version, Isabella the Italian, and Izabel is used in Brazil.
  4. Henrietta
    • Origin:

      Feminine variation of Henry, German
    • Meaning:

      "estate ruler"
    • Description:

      Despite a return to such feminizations of male names as Josephine, Clementine, and Theodora, starchy Henrietta has not made it into that group. Still, if you look hard enough, you'll see that Henrietta has the same vintage charm.
  5. Rosalind
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "soft horse or pretty rose"
    • Description:

      Rosalind has a distinguished literary history – used and popularized by Edmund Spenser and Shakespeare via one of his most charming heroines, in As You Like It. Along with a bouquet of other Rose names, Rosalind might be ready for a comeback.
  6. Juliette
    • Origin:

      French diminutive of Julia, Latin
    • Meaning:

      "youthful or sky father"
    • Description:

      Juliette, pronounced with the emphasis on the last syllable, adds a little something extra to Juliet. In the past years it has been rising up the chart.
  7. Emmeline
    • Origin:

      Old French form of archaic German Amal
    • Meaning:

      "work"
    • Description:

      Emmeline is an Emma relative and Emily cousin that is destined for greater use in the wake of the megapopularity of those two names. A recommended Nameberry fave, Emmeline hopped onto the US Top 1000 in 2014 for the first time ever. While it is genuinely an old name, it was rarely used a century ago; only 17 baby girls were named Emmeline in 1915, the same number as were named Ernie!
  8. Theodora
    • Origin:

      Femeninization of Theodore, Greek
    • Meaning:

      "gift of God"
    • Description:

      Theodora is one of the most revival-worthy of the charmingly old-fashioned Victorian valentine names, softly evocative but still substantial, as is the reversed-syllable Dorothea.
  9. Francine
    • Origin:

      French diminutive pet form of Francoise
    • Meaning:

      "from France or free man"
    • Description:

      With the advent of Pope Francis, all forms of this ancient and saintly name came up for a fresh look. Along with most other -een and -ine (when pronounced like -een) names for girls, Francine has a dated midcentury Mad Men feel. But its choice for their daughter by modern glamour couple Casey Neistat and Candice Pool, respectively a video star and a jewelry designer, has made Francine chic again.
  10. Seraphine
    • Origin:

      French from Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "burning ones"
    • Description:

      Seraphine is the Gallic version of the angelic name Seraphina. But while Seraphina has been rising rapidly since Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck chose it for their second daughter, Seraphine has been largely ignored, though we believe the French vowel-sound ending will soon be more stylish than the a-endings that have predominated in girls' names for years.
  11. Eulalie
    • Origin:

      French form of Eulalia, Greek
    • Meaning:

      "sweetly speaking"
    • Description:

      Eulalie hasn't ranked in the US Top 1000 since 1899, but its French roots might make it more appealing to modern ears than its sister Eulalia.
  12. Jocelyn
    • Origin:

      German
    • Meaning:

      "member of the Gauts tribe"
    • Description:

      Jocelyn has gotten new life and popularity as a result of the current passion for lyn endings. Though it was a male name in medieval times, now Jocelyn couldn't sound more softly feminine.
  13. Helene
    • Origin:

      French variation of Helen
    • Meaning:

      "bright, shining one"
    • Description:

      Whether it's pronounced with an "een" or an "aine" or an "enn" sound at the end, Helene doesn't feel as current the more forthright Helen or the airier Helena. Helene reached a high of Number 228 in the US in 1916, when ene, ine and een names were all the fashion, and stayed in the Top 500 until 1962, making a final exit in 1970. It still ranks well in its native France, and even more in Norway (#70). Model Heidi Klum's daughter 'Leni' has Helene on her birth certificate.
  14. Posie
    • Origin:

      Variation of Posy or short form of Mariposa, English or Spanish
    • Meaning:

      "a bunch of flowers or butterfly"
    • Description:

      Posie and its near-identical twins Posy and Posey are delicate old-fashioned flower names of the type that are stylish today: Think Poppy, Marigold, Clover.
  15. Jolie
    • Origin:

      French
    • Meaning:

      "pretty"
    • Description:

      Jolie is as pretty as its literal meaning; nowadays it is also seen as a girls’ name, via Angelina for whom Jolie was originally her middle name.
  16. Apolline
    • Origin:

      French form of Apollonia, feminine variation of Apollo, Greek mythology name
    • Meaning:

      "destroyer"
    • Description:

      Apolline is a luscious French name chic in Paris -- it's a Top 100 name for baby girls in France -- and ripe for the plucking in the English-speaking world. Derived from the mythological name Apollo, the name may mean strength; Apollo was the god of sun and light. Apolline is a perfect choice for those attracted to the name Apple who don't want to go quite that far.
  17. Coraline
    • Origin:

      Variation of Coralie, French from Latin
    • Meaning:

      "coral"
    • Description:

      Coraline may not be original to Neil Gaiman's wonderful book of the same name, but it might as well be. Gaiman's young heroine Coraline Jones is constantly called Caroline but as a name Coraline is more distinctive and has a more mysterious feel. The 2002 novel Coraline was made into a 2009 animated film voiced by Dakota Fanning and nominated for an Academy Award.
  18. Jessamine
    • Origin:

      English from Persian
    • Meaning:

      "jasmine"
    • Description:

      Jessamine, a charming name occasionally heard in England, is just beginning to be appreciated in the U.S. as a possible successor to all the Jess names of the past. It's also spelled Jessamyn, as in Quaker novelist Jessamyn West, author of Friendly Persuasion--who started life with Jessamyn as her middle name.
  19. Ottoline
    • Origin:

      French and English, diminutive of Ottolie
    • Meaning:

      "prospers in battle"
    • Description:

      Curiously appealing, in a hoop-skirted, wasp-waisted way, Ottoline has recently entered the realm of modern possibility, especially since Sienna Miller chose it as the middle name of her daughter Marlowe.
  20. Rosaline
    • Origin:

      Medieval variation of Rosalind
    • Description:

      Rosaline, which can be pronounced to rhyme with mine or mean in its final syllable, has a deeper, richer pedigree than it might seem. Rosaline was used twice by Shakespeare and was also used in the poetry of Edmund Spenser. While we prefer the stronger-sounding Rosalind or Rosamund, Rosaline deserves another contemporary look.

The Nameberry App Is Live

Nameberry app screenshot
Find your perfect baby name together in our iPhone app, now available on the App Store.
  • Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
  • Names you match on are saved to your shared list
  • Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
  • Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
  • Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.
Download on the App Store
Nameberry app screenshot