Josefa
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God will increase or add".
Name Census estimates that about 1,529 living Americans carry the first name Josefa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Josefa today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Josefa births was 1925 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Josefa. 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.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 224,169 Americans
Peak year
1925
84 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,478
Tracked since 1881
Census
Josefa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,227 people with the first name Josefa, which placed it at #2,427 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
#2,427
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,227 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
90.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Josefa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josefa is Hispanic at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.4%) and White (3.5%). 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 Josefa 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 Josefa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.0% · 9,202
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.4% · 554
- White3.5% · 353
- Black or African American0.8% · 82
- Two or more races0.2% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 13
Popularity
Josefa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Josefa from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 726 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Josefa 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 Josefa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Josefas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, New Mexico recorded the most babies named Josefa, while Illinois, New York, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 407 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Josefa
The name Josefa is a feminine Spanish given name derived from the Hebrew name Yosef, meaning "he will add" or "he will increase." It is the Spanish equivalent of the English name Josephine, and both names share a common origin with the masculine name Joseph.
The name Josefa has its roots in the biblical story of Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel, who rose to prominence in ancient Egypt. The name Yosef gained widespread popularity among Jews and later Christians, leading to various variations in different languages.
In Spanish-speaking cultures, Josefa became a common name for girls, particularly during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. Many notable women throughout history have borne this name, including Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez (1768-1829), a Mexican revolutionary who played a crucial role in the struggle for independence from Spain.
Another well-known figure was Josefa Segovia (1820-1900), a Spanish painter and one of the first women to be admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid. In literature, Josefa Amar y Borbón (1749-1808) was a Spanish writer, educator, and advocate for women's rights during the Enlightenment era.
The name Josefa has also been associated with religious figures, such as Josefa Naval Girbés (1820-1893), a Spanish nun and founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Most Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Additionally, Josefa Menendez (1890-1923), a Spanish mystic and member of the Third Order of the Society of St. Francis, was known for her spiritual visions and writings.
Other notable bearers of the name Josefa include Josefa Idem (1920-2011), a German-Spanish writer and journalist, and Josefa Llanes Escudero (1898-1949), a Spanish anarchist and activist who fought for women's rights and social justice during the Spanish Civil War.
While the name Josefa has its origins in Hebrew and Spanish cultures, it has also been adopted and adapted in other languages and cultures around the world, reflecting the widespread influence and popularity of this name throughout history.
People
Josefa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Josefa 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
Josefa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Josefa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,529 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Josefa 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 224,169 US residents.
Is Josefa a common name?
We classify Josefa as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,050 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Josefa most popular?
The single biggest year for Josefa was 1925, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Josefa is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Josefa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,227 people with the name Josefa, or 3.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,427 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 Josefa 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 Josefa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Josefa appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,221 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Josefa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josefa is Hispanic at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.4%) and White (3.5%). 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 Josefa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Josefa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (9,202 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 Josefa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Josefa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Josefa in the SSA data are female. 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 Josefa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Josefa 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 Josefa 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 have Josefa as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.