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Girl · English pet form of a Hebrew name
Josie Say it: JOH-see
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Meaning A pet form of Josephine, from Hebrew Yosef 'he will add'.
Certain scholars agree on this meaning.
Used as a full given name in the US since the 1800s, with a revival in the 2000s.
Its wave through time A revival, back after decades away
In the United States 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 Peak 1881 per 1,000 babies of that sex 62,840 babies given this name since 1880 At its height in 1885, about 1 in 631 girls 1,994 babies in 2020 The family of the name Other spellings: Josey
Names worth a look Patty Girl A pet form of Patricia, from Latin patricius 'patrician, of noble family'; in earlier centuries Patty was also a pet… Modern · peak 1959 · forgotten Annabelle Girl Probably from medieval Scottish Annabella, a form of Amabel (Latin amabilis 'lovable'); later felt to be Anna plus… Middle Ages · peak 2014 Maryann Girl A combination of Mary and Ann. Modern · peak 1943 · forgotten Mckenzie Girl A spelling of Mackenzie, from the Scottish surname MacCoinnich 'son of Coinneach' ('handsome, comely'). Modern · peak 2000 Callie Girl Uncertain. Used as a pet form of Caroline or of names beginning with Greek kallos 'beauty', such as Callista. Victorian · peak 1890 Lynne Girl A spelling of Lynn, from an English surname derived from Welsh llyn 'lake', and from names ending in -line or -lyn. Modern · peak 1962 · forgotten Joseph Boy From Hebrew Yosef 'he will add', i.e. may God add another son. Biblical · peak 1914 Jessica Girl Probably created by Shakespeare for The Merchant of Venice, likely from biblical Iscah (spelled Jesca in some… Modern · peak 1987 Where this comes from United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.