Jose
Torn between Jose and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
“God will increase”
Goes by Chepe, Pepe, Zé, Zezé. See all nicknames
Also written José.
Famously borne by Jose Marti, the Cuban poet who died fighting for independence from Spain.
The story
José is the Spanish form of Joseph, from the Hebrew Yosef, God will increase, and it carries the memory of the New Testament's quiet carpenter, the earthly father of Jesus, so beloved in the Spanish-speaking world that his name repeats across the map of the Americas, San José after San José. In the United States the curve tells the story of a country changing: modest in the early records, José climbed steadily through the twentieth century, a rise that kept pace with the growth of Spanish-speaking America, and reached its height in the 1980s and 1990s, when it stood among the most familiar boys' names in the country. It has eased since, as classic names of every language have, but easing from such a height still leaves it everywhere. Few names say home in two languages at once the way José does.
Jose across languages
One shared root links 8 names across 4 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Yosef "he will add", the dreamer with the coat
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Jose around the world?
In the United States, 23,114 babies were named Jose between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 5,164,752 people in Brazil were named Jose, the 2nd most common name, with a median age of 53.
Jose is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Spain, Mexico City, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Montevideo, Canada, England and Wales, Austria and France.
Jose crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record, of a Spanish-speaking one and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full lists: English and Spanish · English and Portuguese · Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 940
In the United States, 23,114 babies were named Jose between 2020 and 2025.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 39
At the 2022 census, 5,164,752 people in Brazil were named Jose, the 2nd most common name, with a median age of 53.
Among people named Jose living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 116,381 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 92
In Spain, 487,678 residents are named Jose, the 3rd most common name among men, with a mean age of 63.2 years.
In Spain, Jose was the 35th most common name among boys born in 2024.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Mexico City City
1 in 100
In Mexico City, there were 1,144 registrations of Jose in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (49 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 160
In Chile, 1,088 boys were registered as Jose in 2021, every accent spelling counted together, most often written José.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Argentina
1 in 460
In Argentina, 1,429 newborns were given the name Jose in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Puerto Rico
1 in 490
In Puerto Rico, 37 babies were named Jose in 2025, and 12,334 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Montevideo City
1 in 5702011
In Montevideo, 43 boys named Jose were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Canada
1 in 7,000
In Canada, 52 boys named Jose were born in 2024, the 536th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 28,000
In England and Wales, 21 boys named Jose were born in 2025, ranked 1,307th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 boy named Jose was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 boys named Jose were born in 2025, ranked 3,358th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Jose, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Ireland
last on record 2021
Jose is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Jose, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Norway
last on record 2015
Jose is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Poland
last on record 2018
Jose is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Jose, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Scotland
last on record 2023
Jose is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2014
Jose is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in New Zealand: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
When you meet Jose
Most people given the name Jose in the United States were born between 1970 and 2009. The Jose you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Jose travels
Mexican American · one of the most enduring names across generations of Mexican-American families.
Filipino · The classic Filipino Catholic name, honoring national hero Jose Rizal.
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Jose · Filipino baby names · Filipino American baby names · Mexican American baby names · Short names
The Jose deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jose truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Jose fits with your family’s names and surname.
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