Josee
Feminine · “God will add”
Josée is the French feminine of Joseph, a name much loved in Quebec, written here without its accent. The same letters with one e fewer spell the Spanish José, a man's name, so a single letter carries both the language and the sex.
How old is the name Josee?
Josee first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical Josee alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 600 people named Josee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Josee most popular?
Josee peaked in 1998, reaching #3222 nationally. See the whole 1998 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Yosef to Josee
The story of Josee
The first missionaries in New France placed the colony under the protection of Saint Joseph, and Joseph remained the patron saint of Canada. French Canadians gave the name to sons and its feminine, Josée, to daughters, often joined to Marie as Marie-Josée. In Spanish the masculine is José and there is no feminine Josée, so a name that is clearly a woman's in Montreal can look like a man's to a Spanish reader. American records drop the accent and write Josee.
Meaning
God will add, through Joseph
From Hebrew Yosef, he will add, the name Rachel gave her son in Genesis. Josée is the French feminine.
How the name formed
- Yosef
- Joseph
- Josée
- Josee
Related forms: Josée · Josette · Giuseppina · Josefa · Josephine
Pronouncing Josee
zhoh-ZAY
In French, a soft zh at the start and the stress at the end. In English it is often said JOH-zee or joh-ZAY.
Nicknames for Josee
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1960
- Most girls named
- 199838 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3222reached in 1998
- Change vs 2022
- −16.7%5 in 2023, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Josee in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Josée in French — same name
- Josette in French — related form
- Giuseppina in Italian — related form
- Josefa in Spanish — related form
- Josephine in English — related form
Josees among us
people named Josee are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Josee sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It has a clear meaning and a long history.
- Jo and Josie are ready short forms.
- It connects naturally to French and French-Canadian family roots.
- Without the accent, Americans will say JOH-zee or read it as José.
- Spanish speakers may take it for a man's name at first sight.
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Josee
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Josees are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Josee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Josee in 2025?
- Josee is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Josee with classmates?
- Josee will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More J names
The most-given names starting with J, all years combined.
Jennifer#586 · Jessica#665 · Janet#2778 · Julie#872 · Joyce#1071 · Joan#1085 · Julia#131 · Jean#2117
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Josee? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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