Jose
Meaning
“God will increase”
Goes by Chepe, Pepe, Zé
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 around the world
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
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jose peaked in the 1980s and the 1990s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
5,164,752 people · the #2 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 39 · median age 53
Among people named Jose living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 116,381 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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.
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.
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
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