Josephe
A feminine form of the masculine name Joseph of Hebrew origin meaning "He will add".
Name Census estimates that about 31 living Americans carry the first name Josephe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Josephe today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Josephe births was 1990 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Josephe. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Josephe. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
31
~ 1 in 11,056,592 Americans
Peak year
1990
6 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2006 SSA rank
#12,966
Tracked since 1979
Census
Josephe in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 166 people with the first name Josephe, which placed it at #42,903 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#42,903
National first-name rank
People counted
166
166 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Josephe
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josephe is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.3%) and Black (21.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Josephe described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Josephe at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.2% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino25.3% · 42
- Black or African American21.7% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 5
- Two or more races1.2% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Josephe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Josephe from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 17 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Josephe by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Josephe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Josephe
The name Josephe has its roots in the Hebrew language and culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is a variant spelling of the name Joseph, derived from the Hebrew name Yosef, which means "he will add" or "he will increase." This name holds a significant place in the biblical narrative, as it was borne by one of the sons of the patriarch Jacob.
In the Old Testament, Joseph was a prominent figure known for his wisdom and ability to interpret dreams. His story is recounted in the Book of Genesis, where he rose from being a slave to becoming the second-in-command in Egypt, playing a crucial role in saving his family and the nation from famine.
The name Josephe gained popularity during the early Christian era, as it was associated with Joseph, the husband of Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ. This connection contributed to the name's widespread use among followers of Christianity.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Josephe can be found in the 6th century, when it was borne by Saint Josephe, a Christian martyr from Cilicia (modern-day Turkey). Other notable historical figures bearing this name include Josephe Cloquet (1790-1861), a French surgeon renowned for his contributions to the field of anatomy and surgical techniques.
In the realm of literature, the name Josephe is associated with Josephe Balsamo (1743-1795), better known as Count Cagliostro, an Italian adventurer and occultist who gained fame for his alleged supernatural powers and his role in the "Affair of the Diamond Necklace" scandal in France.
Another prominent figure named Josephe was Josephe Haydn (1732-1809), an Austrian composer who played a significant role in the development of the classical music genre. His works, including symphonies, string quartets, and oratorios, had a profound impact on the musical landscape of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Lastly, the name Josephe was also borne by Josephe Stalin (1878-1953), the controversial leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death. Although his given name was Iosif, he adopted the Russian variant Josephe, which became closely associated with his iron-fisted rule and the era of Soviet communism.
People
Josephe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Josephe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Josephe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Josephe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Josephe going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 11,056,592 US residents.
Is Josephe a common name?
We classify Josephe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 32 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Josephe most popular?
The single biggest year for Josephe was 1990, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Josephe is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Josephe in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 166 people with the name Josephe, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,903 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Josephe in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Josephe?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Josephe leans strongly male. 149 people counted with this name were male (86.6%), compared with 23 female bearers (13.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Josephe?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josephe is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.3%) and Black (21.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Josephe most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Josephe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.2% (80 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Josephe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Josephe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Josephe in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Josephe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Josephe in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Josephe can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Josephe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.