Josephine
Josephine is ranked 56th among girls in 2024 (3,746 births). Its best rank was 21st, in 1916–1917.
- Rank in 2024
- #56up 8 from 2023
- Births in 2024
- 3,7460.23% of girls
- Peak year
- 19188,682 births
- Best rank
- #21first in 1916
- Since 1880
- 327,305people given the name
The story in the numbers
327,305 girls have been named Josephine in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1918, with 8,682 births — 0.75% of all girls recorded that year.
This is a comeback. After an early peak the name fell to a fraction of its former share, and it has been climbing again for the past decade.
Half of everyone given the name was born by 1928, and the 1920s alone account for 21%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 70 of them in the top 100.
Rank among girls, year by year
By decade
| Decade | girls named Josephine | |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 7,732 | |
| 1890s | 12,463 | |
| 1900s | 18,785 | |
| 1910s | 61,355 | |
| 1920s | 69,223 | |
| 1930s | 36,051 | |
| 1940s | 24,324 | |
| 1950s | 16,412 | |
| 1960s | 9,317 | |
| 1970s | 5,154 | |
| 1980s | 4,731 | |
| 1990s | 7,059 | |
| 2000s | 13,922 | |
| 2010s | 23,956 | |
| 2020s | 16,821 |
In 1918, its biggest year
Josephine was the 24th most given girl’s name that year. The top five girls’ names of 1918 were Mary, Helen, Dorothy, Margaret and Ruth. See all of 1918.
Names that rose and fell with Josephine
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Adelepeak 1918
- Winifredpeak 1918
- Louisepeak 1921
- Leorapeak 1921
- Winnifredpeak 1918
- Elnorapeak 1924
- Ethelynpeak 1920
- Ionapeak 1918
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.