🔥Josephine

French feminine variation of Joseph, Hebrew

"Jehovah increases"

Josephine Origin and Meaning

The name Josephine is a girl's name of French origin meaning "Jehovah increases".

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, Napolean 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.

Josephine Rank in US Top 1000

# 64 in the US

Josephine Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 29 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Josephine

• 64 US 2023
• 29 Nameberry 2025
• 117 Canada 2023
• 42 Future 2035
• 265 England 2023
• 67 Germany 2024
• 121 Netherlands 2015

20 Names Similar to Josephine

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Josephine.

• Beatrice
• Matilda
• Louisa
• Cecilia
• Margaret
• Louise
• Penelope
• Esther
• Jane
• Eliza
• Felicity
• Lydia
• Juliet
• Edith
• Florence
• Phoebe
• Genevieve
• Ada
• Ruth
• Vivian

Famous People Named Josephine

• 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

The name 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

International Variations of the name Josephine

• Seosaimhín Irish Gaelic
• Josefana Spanish
• Giuseppina Italian
• Hosefina Spanish
• Josefine German
• Józefina Polish
• Josefina Spanish