Josette
Feminine · “he will add”
Josette is Joseph made small and French, and the Hebrew behind it is a sentence — may God add, which is what Rachel said when she named her son.
How old is the name Josette?
Josette first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Josette alive today was born around 1973, making them about 52 years old. About 6,100 people named Josette are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Josette most popular?
Josette peaked in 1968, reaching #416 nationally. Today it ranks #1833, 1,417 places below that high. See the whole 1968 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Yosef to Josette
The story of Josette
Joseph's story fills a quarter of Genesis. French produced a whole set of feminines and diminutives — Josephine, Josette, Josiane. Josette is standard in France and in French Canada, and French-Canadian and Louisiana families brought it to America, where it appears in the registers in current use.
Meaning
he will add, may God increase
Through Joseph, from the Hebrew Yosef, from yasaf, 'to add' — Rachel names him saying may the Lord add another son. The -ette is a French diminutive suffix rather than part of the original. The gloss is given in Genesis itself.
How the name formed
- Yosef
- Joseph
- Josette
Related forms: Josette · Josephine · Josefina
Pronouncing Josette
joh-ZET
Two syllables, stress on the second. French says it the same way with a softer final t.
Nicknames for Josette
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
- 1916
- Most girls named
- 1969293 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #416reached in 1968
- Change vs 2023
- +36.3%109 in 2025, from 80
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.
Josette in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Josette in French — same name
- Josephine in English — related form
- Josefina in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Josettes among us
people named Josette are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 14,746 born in 2025 was named Josette
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mozelle test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Josette's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mozelle climbed just as high around 1920, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mozelle's path sketches the road Josette is walking now.
Josette is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Josette is headed
Josette should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Josette beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Josette in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is a complete statement and is undisputed.
- Josie and Jo are two short forms, both with real currency.
- The end stress gives it a strong rhythm against a front-stressed surname.
- Josephine is far commoner and will often be substituted.
- The -ette ending is decoration rather than an inherited element.
- It is period-coded to the middle of the twentieth century in American records.
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What they receive
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Josette
Feminine · #1833 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Josettes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,100 people named Josette are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Josette in 2025?
- Josette ranks #1833 among US girl names in 2025, with 109 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Josette?
- About 1 in every 14,746 US girls born in 2025 was named Josette — 109 in all.
- Will my child share the name Josette with classmates?
- Josette will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Josette
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Marlo#1833 · Graciela#1833 · Bobbi#1833 · Alyvia#1833 · Maryjane#1833 · Mirha#1833 · Noelani#1833 · Kalaya#1833
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Josette? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Josette and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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