Josie
Josie was the 82nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 3,021 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 168 places. More babies were named Josie in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning pet form of Josephine · English, French, Hebrew
Say it JOH-zee /ˈdʒoʊzi/
- Rank in 2025
- #82 girls, up 53 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 3,021girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20253,021 babies
- Total since 1880
- 75,915babies recorded
What does the name Josie mean?
Josie is a pet form of Josephine, and Wikipedia and Wiktionary both describe it that way; it is now also often given as a full name. Josephine is the French feminine diminutive of Joseph, from Hebrew Yosef, which DMNES glosses 'God will increase'. In Genesis 30:24 Rachel names her son Joseph with the wish that God will add another son. Josie can also shorten other names beginning with Jos-, such as Josette.
Joséphine (French, “Josephine”)יוֹסֵף (Biblical Hebrew, “Yosef, he will add”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Josephine, Josey, Joey, Jo, Joseph.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Josie', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Josie (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Joseph', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
Nicknames for Josie
The usual nicknames for Josie are Jo. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Josie in the last five years, 2 were named Jo, against 2 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jo · also for Josephine, Joanna, Jocelyn | Traditional | #4,028 | 195 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Josies go by each one.
Josie popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 545 since 1896, 6 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #82 | 3,021 |
| 2020 | #135 | 2,003 |
| 2010 | #262 | 1,251 |
| 2000 | #328 | 970 |
| 1990 | #619 | 363 |
| 1980 | #664 | 269 |
| 1970 | #815 | 170 |
| 1960 | #561 | 305 |
| 1950 | #523 | 246 |
| 1940 | #351 | 337 |
| 1930 | #355 | 356 |
| 1920 | #314 | 436 |
| 1910 | #242 | 251 |
| 1900 | #194 | 266 |
| 1890 | #146 | 242 |
| 1880 | #116 | 141 |
How popular is Josie, counting every spelling?
Josie is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #100 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #82 for Josie on its own. Together these spellings went to 3,158 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josie | 3,021 | #82 | 12,978 |
| Josey | 61 | #2,793 | 390 |
| Jozie | 50 | #3,184 | 279 |
| Josi | 13 | #8,082 | 97 |
| Jozi | — | — | 54 |
| Jossie | 6 | #13,982 | 42 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Josie?
3,021 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Josie (0.84 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Josie born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 3 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Josie.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Josie?
About 56,000 people born in the US named Josie are alive today, with a median age of 16; half are between 6 and 30. That makes Josie mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Josie by state
How common Josie was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Vermont (4.1×), Wyoming (3.7×), West Virginia (3.5×), Maine (3.5×), North Dakota (3.0×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Hawaii, New Jersey, California.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Josie: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Josie, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Josie · Sibling names for Josie
Josie is also a nickname for Josephine.
Questions about the name Josie
What does Josie mean?
Josie means “pet form of Josephine” (English, French, Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Josie?
Josie was the 82nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 3,021 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 168 places. More babies were named Josie in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Josie a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Josie in the US.
Where is Josie most popular?
In 2021–2025, Josie was most common in Vermont (6.60 per 1,000 girls), followed by Wyoming and West Virginia.