Josef
How to say it: JOH-sef · /ˈdʒoʊsəf/
Central European form of Joseph; from Hebrew 'Yosef' — God will add (increase).
Josef was the 34th most popular boys’ name in the United States in 2025, given to 44 babies (Social Security Administration). Its busiest decade was the 1990s, its births are down about 37% in ten years, and it is projected to slip to #58 by 2030.
Updated · SSA 2025 data, published May 2026 · Insee 2025 data, published July 2026 · How we compute these figures
Key facts
| Rank among boys’ names, 2025 | #34 |
|---|---|
| Babies born in 2025 | 44 |
| Share of births | 1 in 451 |
| Peak decade | 1990s |
| Change over 10 years | −37% |
| Projected rank for 2030 (estimate) | #58 |
| In France, 2025 | #91 among boys’ names, 0 births |
Sources: Social Security Administration (SSA), Insee (France). How we compute these figures.
Its life, decade by decade
Josef peaked in the 1990s and is less common today.
What goes with it
Nicknames
- Joe
- Jo
- Sep
Honouring a Josef in the family
In the classroom
In a class of 25 children born in 2025, the chance that another child is called Josef is about 1 in 19.
Around the world
This spelling is used in Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish.
In France: #91 for boys in 2025.
Famous people named Josef
- Josef Stefan (1835–1893)Carinthian Slovene physicist, mathematician and poet
- Josef Čapek (1887–1945)Czech painter and writer
- Josef Albers (1888–1976)German-American designer, painter, educator and typographer
From Wikidata and Wikipedia
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