How rare is the name Josephine?

123,986 people in the United States have the first name Josephine, about 1 in 2,436. It ranks #459 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

JOSEPHINE

#459

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
123,986
About
1 in 2,436
This common or more
56.9%
Who bears it

Of the 123,986 people named Josephine, 60.6% reported their origin as White, 14.4% as Hispanic or Latino and 12.1% as Black. Virtually all are female (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Josephine peaked in 1918, when 8,709 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1918
Births that year
8,709
In 2025*
4,126 ▼53%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 332,458 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.

Josephine by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1910s, when it ranked #43. The largest share of babies named Josephine, 41.2%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.

1880s#677,749
1890s#6812,500
1900s#5018,860
1910s#4361,513
1920s#6269,444
1930s#12236,318
1940s#22824,424
1950s#37416,462
1960s#5469,358
1970s#7605,160
1980s#8454,746
1990s#7357,059
2000s#48413,924
2010s#31523,960
2020s#17520,981
Before 19016.6%
Greatest Generation 1901–2741.2%
Silent Generation 1928–4518.9%
Baby boom 1946–649.3%
Generation X 1965–802.9%
Millennials 1981–962.6%
Generation Z 1997–126.6%
2013 and later11.9%

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 Josephine is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Josephine has been most common in New York (2×), Connecticut (1.8×), and New Mexico (1.7×), and least common in Utah (0.42×).

289,857 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 Josephine

#457 Kristina · 124,534#458 Mitchell · 124,130#460 Colin · 123,025#461 Eli · 122,713

Spelled almost the same

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

#4,566 Josephina · 4,030#13,156 Josefine · 925#16,970 Josphine · 657#28,260 Joesphine · 319#30,674 Josaphine · 283#38,650 Josephin · 198#42,480 Josephene · 169#46,524 Josiephine · 143

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