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".
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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. 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.
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
Josephine Klein (1926–2018), German-born British psychologist
Josephine Alstrup Kofod (born 1999), Danish politician
Josephine Lacson-Noel, (born 1967), Filipino politician
Josephine Lang (1815–1880), German composer
Josephine Langford (born 1997), Australian actress
Josephine Lemoyan, Tanzanian sociologist and politician
Joséphine Léno, Guinean educator, trade unionist and politician
Josephine Lips (born 1976), Australian former representative rower
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
Josephine Louise Le Monnier Newcomb (1816–1901), American philanthropist
Josephine R. Nichols (1838–1897), American lecturer and temperance reformer
Josephine Obermann (born 1983), German curler
Joséphine Pagnier (born 2002), French ski jumper
Josephine Preston Peabody (1874–1922), American poet
Josephine Amelia Perkins (born c. 1818), British horse thief and prisoner
Josephine Corliss Preston (1873–1958), American educator and politician
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 E. Sizer (1862–1937), American temperance reformer
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
Joséphine Teakarotu (born 1969), French Polynesian politician
Josephine Tewson (1931–2022), British actress
Josephine Tey (1896–1952), Scottish author
Josephine "Josie" Valeri (born 2001), American soccer player
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 McDonald Yarbrough (1879–1961), American writer and clubwoman
Josephine Silone Yates (1852 or 1859–1912), American chemist
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, meaning "he shall add/grow".
