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Josefina

girl name
Origin
Spanish
Syllables
4
Peak era
1920s/2020s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Josefina and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

“God will increase (feminine form of Jose/Joseph); a stately name common among earlier generations, now revived as a heritage pick”

The story

Read the story of Jose →

More names with stories →

Josefina 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

JosefinaSpanish · feminine formJosephEnglishJosefGermanJoséSpanish

More branches

JoeEnglish · short formJoesphEnglish · variantJosephineFrench · feminine formJosephinaEnglish · variant

Ways to honor Joseph →

How popular is Josefina around the world?

In the United States, 540 babies were named Josefina between 2020 and 2025. In Montevideo, 92 girls named Josefina were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

Josefina is on the official records of the United States, Montevideo, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Austria, Brazil, Mexico City and England and Wales.

United States

1 in 40,000

In the United States, 540 babies were named Josefina between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1920s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Josefina peaked in the 1920s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Josefina has stayed between 540 and 1,403 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Montevideo City

1 in 270 · 2011

In Montevideo, 92 girls named Josefina were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

1940peak 2010

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

See the full list for Montevideo →

Argentina

1 in 420

In Argentina, 1,562 newborns were given the name Josefina in 2024.

2012peak 20172024

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

See the full list for Argentina →

Chile

1 in 460

In Chile, 388 girls were registered as Josefina in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 2017

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

See the full list for Chile →

Spain

1 in 1,200

In Spain, 36,842 residents are named Josefina, the 120th most common name among women, with a mean age of 70.6 years.

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

See the full list for Spain →

Austria

1 in 2,500

In Austria, 30 girls named Josefina were born in 2025, the 206th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

1984peak 2024

share of that year’s births on record

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)

See the full list for Austria →

Brazil

1 in 10,000

At the 2022 census, 19,905 people in Brazil were named Josefina, ranked 1,072nd, with a median age of 68.
Among people named Josefina living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1950s than in any other decade.

1930speak 1950s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

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

See the full list for Brazil →

Mexico City City

1 in 17,000

In Mexico City, there were 7 registrations of Josefina in 2022.

peak 20002022

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, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

England and Wales

1 in 73,000

In England and Wales, 8 girls named Josefina were born in 2025, ranked 3,035th among girls that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.

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

See the full list for England and Wales →

Canada

last on record 2021

Josefina is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.

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)

See the full list for Canada →

France

last on record 1977

Josefina is not on the 2025 record for France, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.

1920peak 19652025

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. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Poland

last on record 2014

Josefina 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 3 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. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

South Australia

last on record 2009

Josefina is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 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

See the full list for South Australia →

Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Josefina

People given the name Josefina in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Josefina

Maria Lucia Francisca Marcela Maribel Lola

Where Josefina travels

Mexican American · A stately Mexican American heritage choice now returning as a revival.

Keep exploring

Mexican American baby names · Familiar but never popular

The Josefina deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Josefina 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 Josefina fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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