Josephine is a female given name. It is the English version of the French name Joséphine, itself a female variant of the name Joseph, which is ultimately derived from the Hebrew name Yosef (Hebrew: יוֹסֵף), meaning "he shall add/grow".

Variations

Originally a diminutive form of the French name Josèphe, Joséphine became the standard form in the 19th century, replacing Josèphe, which eventually became a very rare name. In 2017, Josephine was the 107th most popular girls' baby name in the US.^[1] Diminutive forms of this name include Fifi, Jo, Josie, Joetta and Jojo. Other language variants include the Irish version Seosaimhín, the Spanish version Josefina or Josephina, and the Greek version Iosiphina (Greek: Ιωσηφίνα). Alternate spellings include Yosefina and Gosefine. The Swedish version is Josefine.

The name started gaining popularity after 1800 due to the high profile of Joséphine de Beauharnais, a French noblewoman who became Napoleon's mistress and later his wife and Empress of the French.

Translations

• جوزفين (Arabic)
• * ג'וזפין (Hebrew)
• Jozefina, Xhozefina, Gjozefina, Gjyzepina (Albanian)
• Жазэфіна, Žazefina (Belarusian)
• Josefina, Fina, Josefa (Catalan)
• 约瑟芬, Yuēsèfēn (Chinese Simplified)
• 約瑟芬, Yuēsèfēn (Chinese Traditional)
• Josipa, Jozefina, Finka, Ina (Croatian)
• Jozefien, Josefien, Fien (Dutch)
• Josephine, Josephin (English)
• Josefine (German)
• Josefine (Danish)
• Ιωσηφίνα, Io̱si̱fína (Greek)
• જોસેફાઈન, Jōsēphā'īna (Gujarati)
• Josefiina (Finnish)
• Joséphine, Fifi, Josette, Josiane (French)
• जोसफिन, Jōsaphina (Hindi)
• Jozefina, Jozefin, Jozefa (Hungarian)
• Josephine, Yosephine (Indonesian)
• Giuseppina (Italian)
• ジョセフィン, Josefuin (Japanese)
• ಜೋಸೆಫೀನ್, Jōsephīn (Kannada)
• 조세핀, Josepin (Korean)
• Џозефин, Džozefin (Macedonian)
• ജോസഫൈൻ, Josephine (Malayalam)
• Жозефина, Jozyefina (Mongolian)
• जोसेफिन, Jōsēphina (Nepali)
• ژوزفین (Persian)
• Józefina (Polish)
• Josefina (Portuguese)
• Жозефина, Zhozefina (Russian)
• Iosefina (Samoan)
• Јосефина, Josefina (Serbian)
• Josefina (Spanish)
• Josefina (Swedish)
• ஜோசபின், Jōcapiṉ (Tamil)
• జోసెఫిన్, Jōsephin (Telugu)
• โจเซฟิน, Josefin (Thai)
• Жозефіна, Zhozefina (Ukrainian)
• דזשאָסעפינע, Dzşʼásʻpynʻ (Yiddish)

Nicknames

Jobe, JJ, Jowse, Jody, Fi, Fientje, Fifi, Fike, Fina, Jael, Jo, Joephy, Joey, Joja, Jojo, Jos, Josa, Josie, Jossan, Jovi, Johnny, Jussus, Juza, Pepi, Peppa, Phinie, Posey, Posy, Posie, Sefi, Sefina, Sephine, Sophie, Ephine, Effy, Jo-Z, Joan, Jayla, Jay, Fini, Fine, Finka.

Male

• Joséphin Péladan (1858–1918), French novelist and martinist

People with the given name Josephine

Royalty

• Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, Princess of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
• Josephine of Leuchtenberg, Queen of Sweden
• Joséphine de Beauharnais, Empress Consort of the French, Queen Consort of Italy, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte
• Princess Joséphine of Lorraine, Princess of Carignano
• Josephine of Rosenborg, Countess, member of Denmark's Royal Family
• Princess Josephine of Baden, Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
• Princess Joséphine Caroline of Belgium, wife of Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern
• Princess Josephine of Denmark, Danish princess

Other

• Josephine Abady, American stage director, film director, and producer
• Josephine Baker, American dancer, jazz and pop singer
• Josephine Bakhita, ex-slave from Sudan, Catholic nun and saint
• Josefine Balluck, Austrian-American actor
• Josephine Bell, English author
• Josephine Thorndike Berry (1871-1945), American educator, home economist
• Joséphine-Félicité-Augustine Brohan (1824–1893), French actress
• Josephine Bunch, British physicist
• Josephine Brunsvik, Hungarian countess, most likely Beethoven's Immortal Beloved
• Josephine Butler, British feminist and reformer
• Josephine Cashman, Aboriginal Australian lawyer and entrepreneur
• Josephine Cochrane, American inventor, inventor of the dishwasher
• Joséphine Colomb (1833-1892), French children's writer, lyricist, translator
• Josephine Cox (1938–2020), English author
• Josefine Cronholm, Swedish jazz vocalist and songwriter
• Joséphine de La Baume, French actress
• Josefine Cronholm, Swedish ski-orienteering competitor and world champion
• Josephine Clay Ford (1923–2005), granddaughter of Henry Ford
• Josephine Fletcher, New Zealand professor of education
• Josephine Foster, American folk singer
• Josephine Clara Goldmark, American reformer
• Josephine Sophia White Griffing, American social reformer
• Josephine Ho, known as Josie Ho (born 1974), singer and actress from Hong Kong
• Josephine Hopper, wife and model of painter Edward Hopper
• Josephine Humphreys, American novelist
• Josephine Hutchinson, American actress
• Joséphine Jobert, French actress and singer
• Josephine Kane, British academic and historian of architecture
• Joséphine Nyssens Keelhoff (1833-1917), Belgian activist, social reformer, editor
• Josephine Gates Kelly, Native American activist and politician
• Josephine Langford, Australian actress
• Josephine Louise Le Monnier Newcomb, American philanthropist
• Josefine Lindstrand, Swedish singer
• Josephine Shaw Lowell, American social reformer
• Josephine Lucchese (1893–1974), American opera singer
• Josephine McGill (1877–1919), American composer and music historian
• Josephine Meeker (1857–1882), American teacher and physician
• Josephine Melville (1961–2022), British actress, director and writer
• Josephine Mitchell (born 1965), Australian actress
• Josephine Moon, Australian author
• Josefine Öqvist (Anna Lenita Josefine Öqvist), Swedish female footballer
• Josephine Preston Peabody, American writer
• Josefine Preuß, German actor
• Josefine Ridell, Swedish singer
• Josephine Robinson Roe (1858–1946), American mathematician and university professor
• Josephine Ruffin, early civil rights activist and suffragist
• Josephine Siao, Hong Kong actress
• Josephine Skriver, Danish model
• Josephine Sparre, Swedish noble
• Joséphine Teakarotu (born 1969), French Polynesian politician
• Josephine Tewson (1931–2022), British actress
• Josephine Tey, mystery writer
• Josephine Waconda (1935-2013), American nurse and administrator
• Josephine 'Jo' Williams, British businesswoman

Fictional characters

• Josephine Bloom, a character played by Marion Cotillard in the 2003 film Big Fish
• Josephine Balsamo, a.k.a. Countess Cagliosto, antagonist of Arsène Lupin in novels
• Josephine, Captain Corcoran's daughter in the comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore
• Josephine "Lena" Duchannes, second protagonist of the novel series Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
• Josephine "Jo" March, protagonist of the novel Little Women
• Josephine “Pepi” Mutzenbacher, protagonist of the novel Josephine Mutzenbacher
• Josephine Joey Potter, in the television series Dawson's Creek
• Dr Josephine Jo Karev, in the television series Grey's Anatomy
• Josephine Cherette Montilyet, the Chief Ambassador and Diplomat in Dragon Age Inquisition.
• Josephine Anwhistle, a fictional character in the series of novels A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
• Josephine Ada Lightbourne, a character in the television series The 100
• Josephine Barry, a character in the television series Anne with an E
• Grandma Josephine, a fictional character in Roald Dahl's 1964 book: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory