Josef
German, Czech and Scandinavian spelling of Joseph, from the Hebrew Yosef, he will add, a name borne in Genesis by Jacob's son.
Josef in 2025
Josef was given to 44 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 6,153rd most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 75,349 babies born.
The history of Josef
Josef reached its highest point in 1999, when 220 babies were given the name, ranking 1,668th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 1,501st, in 1984.
Across the 126 years of records since 1900, 9,158 babies have been named Josef. Half of them were born before 1992, which places the name's centre of gravity with Millennials.
Josef by decade
| Decade | Babies named Josef | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 43 | 2,144 |
| 1910s | 173 | 2,475 |
| 1920s | 162 | 3,304 |
| 1930s | 135 | 3,121 |
| 1940s | 172 | 3,206 |
| 1950s | 335 | 2,528 |
| 1960s | 554 | 2,098 |
| 1970s | 1,026 | 1,564 |
| 1980s | 1,559 | 1,501 |
| 1990s | 1,789 | 1,668 |
| 2000s | 1,834 | 1,793 |
| 2010s | 1,011 | 2,815 |
| 2020s | 365 | 4,377 |
Where Josef is heading
Josef has fallen 52% over the past decade, from 91 babies in 2015 to 44 in 2025.
Names like Josef
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Josef.