The name Jozef is derived from the Hebrew name Yosef, which means "he will add" or "he will increase." It is a variant spelling of the more common English name Joseph. The name has its origins in the biblical figure Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel, whose story is recounted in the Book of Genesis.

Jozef is the Slovak, Czech, and Hungarian form of the name. It has been in use in these Central European regions since the Middle Ages, when Christianity spread throughout the area. The name was likely adopted from the Latin form Ioseph, which was used in the Vulgate Bible, the Latin translation of the Bible that was widely circulated in medieval Europe.

In the Byzantine Empire, the name was rendered as Iosif or Ioseph in Greek, and this form influenced the Slavic and Hungarian versions of the name. The spelling Jozef is closely related to the Polish form Józef and the Croatian form Josip.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jozef can be found in the Codex Judaeorum, a medieval legal document from the Kingdom of Hungary, which mentions a man named Jozef de Villa Cruciferorum in 1349.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Jozef or a variant spelling:

1. Jozef Košický (c. 1500-1566), a Slovak humanist writer and theologian who translated the Bible into Slovak.
2. Jozef Maximilián Petzval (1807-1891), a Hungarian mathematician and inventor who designed the Petzval lens for photography.
3. Jozef Ďurček (1835-1925), a Slovak writer and Catholic priest who made significant contributions to Slovak literature.
4. Jozef Kroner (1924-1998), a Slovak composer and educator who wrote numerous works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments.
5. Jozef Kabaň (born 1973), a Slovak football player who represented the Slovak national team and played professionally in several European leagues.

While the name Jozef has its roots in ancient Hebrew and biblical tradition, it has been widely used in Central and Eastern Europe for centuries, with numerous notable bearers across various fields and eras.