Girls' name · peaked in 1916
Josephine name popularity since 1925
192,820 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Josephine. Half of them were born in 1952 or earlier, so the typical Josephine is about 74 years old in 2026. Josephine peaked in 1916 as the #21 name for girls, and it ranked #53 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 192,820
- Named Josephine, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1916
- #21 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #53
- for girls in 2025 (4,126 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 192,206 girls · 614 boys
- Most popular in
- New Mexico
- 1.93× its national share
Peak year is the year Josephine made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Josephine births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Josephine peaked earlier, in 1916.
- Steepest fall: Between 1941 and 1946, Josephine's share of baby girls fell by 37%, from 1 in 443 to 1 in 705.
- Fastest rise: Between 2011 and 2016, it became 1.6× more common, from 1 in 1,020 baby girls to 1 in 634.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Josephine's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Josephine.
Decade by decade
Babies named Josephine in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 30,297 | 131 | – |
| 1930s | 36,051 | 267 | #75 |
| 1940s | 24,324 | 100 | #120 |
| 1950s | 16,412 | 50 | #199 |
| 1960s | 9,317 | 41 | #309 |
| 1970s | 5,154 | 6 | #434 |
| 1980s | 4,732 | 14 | #485 |
| 1990s | 7,059 | 0 | #376 |
| 2000s | 13,924 | 0 | #229 |
| 2010s | 23,960 | 0 | #131 |
| 2020–25 | 20,976 | 5 | #53 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
32.6% of babies named Josephine from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Josephine is most popular
The index compares Josephine's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Josephine.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 1.93× | 2,046 |
| New York | 1.86× | 27,081 |
| Hawaii | 1.50× | 898 |
| New Jersey | 1.46× | 7,723 |
| Connecticut | 1.45× | 3,008 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Josephine's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Josephine.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Josephine (1916).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data