Josephine (given name)

Josephine is a female 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".

Josephine, Josefina

Pronunciation	/ˈdʒoʊsəfiːn, -zə-/ French: [ʒozefin] German: [joːzəˈfiːnə]
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/name	Hebrew
Meaning	"He shall add/grow"
Other names
Related names	Joseph, Joey, Joe, Josie, Josef

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 Josefin or 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)
• Yosephine, Josefa, Josepha, Josephira, Josephine, Josephina, Yosefin, Yosefina, Josefina, Yosepha, Finka, Ina (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, Josefine, Josefin (Swedish)
• ஜோசபின், Jōcapiṉ (Tamil)
• జోసెఫిన్, Jōsephin (Telugu)
• โจเซฟิน, Josefin (Thai)
• Жозефіна, Zhozefina (Ukrainian)
• דזשאָסעפינע, Dzşʼásʻpynʻ (Yiddish)

Nicknames

Jobe, Joby, JJ, Jowse, Jody, Fi, Fientje, Fifi, Fike, Fina, Jael, Jo, Joephy, Joey, Joja, Jojo, Jos, Josa, Josie, Josy, 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

Main article: Joseph (name)

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

People with the given name Josephine

Royalty

• Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (1927–2005), Princess of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
• Josephine of Leuchtenberg (1807–1876), Queen of Sweden
• Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), Empress of France, Queen Consort of Italy, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte
• Princess Joséphine of Lorraine (1753–1797), Princess of Carignano
• Josephine of Rosenborg (1942–2013), Countess, member of Denmark's Royal Family
• Princess Josephine of Baden (1813–1900), Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
• Princess Joséphine Caroline of Belgium (1872–1958), wife of Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern
• Princess Josephine of Denmark (born 2011), Danish princess

Other

• Josephine Abady (1949–2002), American stage director, film director, and producer
• Josephine Abercrombie (1926–2022), American horsewoman, businesswoman, boxing promoter, and philanthropist
• Josefin Abrahamsson (born 1979), Swedish table tennis player
• Josephine Adreon (1844–1911), American landscape painter
• Josefin Åsberg (born 1974), Swedish production designer
• Josefin Asplund (born 1991), Swedish actress
• Josephine Baker (1906–1975), American dancer, jazz and pop singer
• Josephine Bakhita (1869–1947), ex-slave from Sudan, Catholic nun and saint
• Josefine Balluck, Austrian-American actor
• Josephine Bell (1897–1987), English author
• Josephine Thorndike Berry (1871-1945), American educator, home economist
• Josephine Bracken (1876–1902), Filipina wife of José Rizal
• Josephine Brandell (1887–1977), Austrian-Jewish actress
• Josefin Brink (born 1969), Swedish politician
• Joséphine-Félicité-Augustine Brohan (1824–1893), French actress
• Josephine Brunsvik (1779–1821), Hungarian countess, most likely Beethoven's Immortal Beloved
• Josephine "Jo" Budd (born 1961), British textile artist
• Josephine Bulmer (born 1996), Australian canoeist
• Josephine Bunch, British physicist
• Josephine Butler (1828–1906), British feminist and reformer
• Joséphine Calamatta (1817–1893), French painter
• Josephine Cashman, Aboriginal Australian lawyer and entrepreneur
• Josephine Chaplin (1949–2023), American actress
• Josephine Cochrane (1839–1913), American inventor
• Joséphine Colomb (1833-1892), French children's writer, lyricist, translator
• Josephine Cox (1938–2020), English author
• Josefine Cronholm (born 1971), Swedish jazz vocalist and songwriter
• Josephine Dias (born 1948), Indian Eucharistic minister and actress
• Josephine Dillon (1884–1971), American actress and drama teacher
• Joséphine de La Baume (born 1984), French actress
• Josephine Dunn (1906–1983), American actress
• Josephine Earp (1861–1944), American common-law wife of Wyatt Earp
• Josefin Eder (born 1995), German sport shooter
• Josefine Einsle, German curler
• Josephine Ann Endicott (born 1950), Australian dancer
• Josephine Fletcher, New Zealand professor of education
• Josephine Clay Ford (1923–2005), granddaughter of Henry Ford
• Josephine Forsman (born 1981), Swedish drummer and member of Sahara Hotnights
• Josephine Foster, American folk singer
• Josephine Garcia, American politician
• Josephine Clara Goldmark (1877 – December 15, 1950), American reformer
• Josephine Sophia White Griffing (1814–1872), American activist
• Josephine Healion (born 1995), Irish para-cyclist
• Josephine Henry (1846–1928), American women's rights leader, suffragist, social reformer and writer
• Josefin Hermansson (born 1990), Swedish bowler
• Josephine Herrick (1897–1972), American photographer, humanitarian, entrepreneur and teacher
• Josephine R. Hilgard (1906–1989), American developmental psychologist
• Josephine Ho (born 1951), Taiwanese academic and feminist
• Josephine Hopper (1883–1968), American painter and model
• Josephine Humphreys (born 1945), American novelist
• Josephine Hutchinson (1903–1998), American actress
• Josephine Jacobsen (1908–2003), American-Canadian poet
• Joséphine Jobert (born 1985), 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 (1888–1976), Native American activist and politician
• Josephine Kermode (1852–1937), Manx poet and playwright
• Josefin Kipper (1928–1981), Austrian actress
• Josephine Lang (1815–1880), German composer
• Josephine Langford (born 1997), Australian actress
• Josephine Lemoyan, Tanzanian sociologist and politician
• Josephine Lips (born 1976), Australian former representative rower
• Josefin Ljungman (born 1981), Swedish actress
• Josephine Louise Le Monnier Newcomb (1816–1901), American philanthropist
• Josefine Lindstrand, Swedish singer
• Josephine Shaw Lowell (1843–1905), American reform leader and philanthropist
• Josephine Lucchese (1893–1974), American opera singer
• Josephine MacLeod (1858–1949), American devotee of Swami Vivekananda
• Josephine Mandamin (1942–2019), Anishinaabe grandmother, elder and founding member of water protectors
• Josephine McGill (1877–1919), American composer and music historian
• Josephine Meckseper, German artist
• Josephine Medina (1970–2021), Filipino table tennis player
• Josephine Meeker (1857–1882), American teacher and physician
• Josephine Melville (1961–2022), British actress, director and writer
• Josephine Miles (1911–1985), American poet and academic
• Josephine Mitchell (born 1965), Australian actress
• Josephine Moon, Australian author
• Josefin Neldén (born 1984), Swedish actress
• Josephine R. Nichols (1838–1897), American lecturer and temperance reformer
• Josefin Nilsson (1969–2016), Swedish singer and actress
• Josephine Obermann (born 1983), German curler
• Josefin Olsson (born 1989), Swedish sailor
• Josefine Öqvist (born 1983), Swedish female footballer
• Joséphine Pagnier (born 2002), French ski jumper
• Josephine Amelia Perkins (born c. 1818), British horse thief and prisoner
• Josephine Preston Peabody (1874–1922), American poet
• Josefine Preuß (born 1986), German actor
• Josephine Roberto (born 1977), Filipina songwriter, actress and music producer
• Josephine Robinson Roe (1858–1946), American mathematician and university professor
• Josephine Ryan (1884–1977), Irish nationalist
• Josephine Siao (born 1947), Hong Kong actress
• Josephine Skriver (born 1993), Danish model
• Josephine Sparre (1829–1892), Swedish noble
• Josephine Spencer (1861–1928), American writer, journalist and political activist
• Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin (1842–1924), American publisher, journalist, civil rights leader, suffragist, and editor
• Josephine Staton (born 1961), American judge
• Josefin Taljegård (born 1995), Swedish figure skater
• Joséphine Teakarotu (born 1969), French Polynesian politician
• Josephine Tewson (1931–2022), British actress
• Josephine Tey (1896–1952), Scottish author
• Josephine Waconda (1935-2013), American nurse and administrator
• Josephine Ward (1864–1932), British writer
• Josephine Wiggs (born 1965), British musician
• Josephine "Jo" Williams (born 1948), British businesswoman
• Josephine Wratten (born 1992), British rower
• Josephine Silone Yates (1852 or November 15, 1859, died September 3, 1912), American chemist

Fictional characters

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

See also

• Josephina (disambiguation)
• Josephine (disambiguation)
• Josie (name)
• Giuseppina (given name)
• "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk", a short story by Franz Kafka