Josephina
Feminine form of Joseph, a Hebrew name meaning "he will add".
Name Census estimates that about 3,030 living Americans carry the first name Josephina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Josephina today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Josephina births was 2023 (117 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Josephina. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Josephina with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.0K
~ 1 in 113,120 Americans
Peak year
2023
117 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,825
Tracked since 1912
Census
Josephina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,037 people with the first name Josephina, which placed it at #4,559 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
#4,559
National first-name rank
People counted
4.0K
4,037 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
58.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Josephina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josephina is Hispanic at 58.7%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.2%). 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 Josephina 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 Josephina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino58.7% · 2,369
- White28.1% · 1,134
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.2% · 252
- Black or African American3.5% · 143
- Two or more races3.0% · 123
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 16
Popularity
Josephina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Josephina from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 900 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Josephina remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Josephina 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 Josephina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Josephinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Josephina, while North Carolina, Missouri, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 74 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Josephina
Josephina is a feminine given name of Spanish and Italian origin, derived from the masculine name Joseph. The name Joseph traces its roots back to the Hebrew name Yosef, meaning "he will add" or "he will increase." It gained widespread popularity due to its association with Joseph, the son of Jacob in the Old Testament.
The name Josephina emerged in the Middle Ages as a feminine form of Joseph, likely originating in Spain and Italy. It was initially used by Catholic families who wished to honor Saint Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus Christ. The name spread throughout Europe during the medieval and Renaissance periods, particularly in regions with strong Catholic traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Josephina can be found in the 13th-century Franciscan text, "Chronica XXIV Generalium," which mentions a woman named Josephina de Andria. Another early reference comes from the 14th-century Italian writer, Giovanni Boccaccio, who included a character named Josephina in his famous work, "The Decameron."
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Josephina. One of the most famous was Josephina Bakhita (c. 1869-1947), a Sudanese-born Italian Canossian religious sister who was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 2000. Another significant figure was Josephina Camerlynck (1836-1924), a Belgian missionary and founder of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary.
In the arts, Josephina Duschinka (1754-1824) was an Austrian singer and composer who gained recognition for her operas and vocal works. The Italian writer and philosopher Josephina Petronia (1623-1677) was also a prominent figure in her time, known for her literary works and contributions to the intellectual discourse of the 17th century.
The name Josephina was also used by members of European nobility, such as Josephina of Baden (1813-1900), a German princess who became the Queen of Sweden through her marriage to Oscar I. Additionally, Josephina of Leuchtenberg (1807-1876) was a notable figure in the Bavarian royal family.
While the name Josephina has waned in popularity in recent decades, it remains a cherished name with deep historical and religious significance, particularly in Catholic and Hispanic communities. Its enduring presence serves as a testament to the lasting influence of the biblical figure Joseph and the veneration of Saint Joseph within the Christian tradition.
People
Josephina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Josephina 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
Josephina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Josephina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,030 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Josephina 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 113,120 US residents.
Is Josephina a common name?
We classify Josephina as "Rare". It ranks above 95.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,372 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Josephina most popular?
The single biggest year for Josephina was 2023, when 117 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Josephina is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Josephina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,037 people with the name Josephina, or 1.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,559 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 Josephina 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 Josephina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Josephina appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,030 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Josephina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josephina is Hispanic at 58.7%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.2%). 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 Josephina most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Josephina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.7% (2,369 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 Josephina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Josephina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Josephina 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 Josephina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Josephina 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 Josephina 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 the name Josephina?
Want to know how many Americans are named Josephina? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.