How common is the name Jose?

1,211,106 people in the United States have the first name Jose, about 1 in 249. It ranks #16 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

JOSE

#16

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
1,211,106
About
1 in 249
This common or more
10.8%
Who bears it

Of the 1,211,106 people named Jose, 96% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 2.3% as White and 1% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are male (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Jose peaked in 2002, when 12,916 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2002
Births that year
12,916
In 2025*
3,678 ▼72%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 596,732 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Jose by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2000s, when it ranked #47. The largest share of babies named Jose, 29%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1880s#350910
1890s#440974
1900s#3841,642
1910s#3855,968
1920s#28414,658
1930s#30012,507
1940s#30017,011
1950s#24431,728
1960s#18742,441
1970s#8867,114
1980s#8687,486
1990s#54119,783
2000s#47116,108
2010s#10655,288
2020s#15423,114
Before 19010.3%
Greatest Generation 1901–273.1%
Silent Generation 1928–454.1%
Baby boom 1946–6410.1%
Generation X 1965–8016.5%
Millennials 1981–9627.2%
Generation Z 1997–1229%
2013 and later9.7%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Jose is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Jose has been most common in New Mexico (3.9×), Texas (3.8×), and Arizona (3.1×), and least common in New Hampshire (0.03×).

588,679 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Jose

#14 Jennifer · 1,331,077#15 Matthew · 1,315,151#17 Charles · 1,207,972#18 Elizabeth · 1,206,652

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Jose, most common first.

#448 Josh · 125,623#802 Josue · 60,561#951 Josie · 46,382#4,962 Josey · 3,580#10,900 Josi · 1,200#11,762 Josee · 1,077#14,944 Jos · 779#15,197 Joss · 760

Also a last name

As a last name, Jose ranks #2,777 of 156,621, with 12,633 people. See Jose as a last name

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