Josi
Feminine · “Hebrew "may he add”
Joseph's name is explained twice in one verse and the two explanations do not agree. Rachel says God has taken away her reproach, using asaf, and then names him Yosef, may He add — one sentence containing a pun on two different verbs.
How old is the name Josi?
Josi first appears in US birth records in 1959 — 66 years ago. The typical Josi alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 1,000 people named Josi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Josi most popular?
Josi peaked in 1999, reaching #3509 nationally. Today it ranks #7885, 4,376 places below that high. See the whole 1999 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Yosef to Josi
The story of Josi
The doubled etymology is a known feature of the Genesis naming scenes and is generally read as deliberate: Rachel's two statements mark both the removal of her shame and her request for more, and the narrative lets the name carry both. The same technique appears elsewhere — Jacob's name is linked to both the heel and to supplanting, and Abraham's to a multitude the letters do not support. Joseph became one of the most widespread names in the world through Christianity and Islam alike, and the feminine Josephine was created in French in the eighteenth century, becoming visible with Napoleon's empress. Josi peaks in America in 1999.
Meaning
Hebrew "may he add"
From Yosef, from the root y-s-f, to add or increase, so may God add another son. Genesis 30 attaches the name to two roots at once: asaf, to take away or gather, and yasaf, to add. The double explanation is a literary device rather than a linguistic uncertainty; the name itself is from the second. Josi is a clip of Josephine or Josefina.
How the name formed
- Yosef
- Joseph
- Josephine
- Josi
Related forms: Josi · Josie · Josefina
Pronouncing Josi
JOH-see
Two syllables, stress on the first. German Josi is YOH-zee with a y and a z; the two are the same spelling said differently.
Nicknames for Josi
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
- 1959
- Most girls named
- 199935 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3509reached in 1999
- Change vs 2024
- −31.6%13 in 2025, from 19
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.
Josi in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Josi in German — same name
- Josie in English — spelling variant
- Josefina in Spanish — related form
Josis among us
people named Josi are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 123,636 born in 2025 was named Josi
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 Mitra test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Josi's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mitra climbed just as high around 1971, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mitra's path sketches the road Josi is walking now.
Josi sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Josi beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Josi 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 settled and the biblical association is major.
- Jo is an immediate short form that stands alone.
- It is short, phonetic and easy to spell.
- Josie is the more common American spelling.
- It reads as a nickname rather than a full legal name.
- German and English pronounce the same spelling differently.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Josi to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Josi? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Josi
Feminine · #7885 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Josis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Josi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Josi in 2025?
- Josi ranks #7885 among US girl names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Josi?
- About 1 in every 123,636 US girls born in 2025 was named Josi — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Josi with classmates?
- Josi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Josi
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ola#7885 · Loula#7885 · Consuelo#7885 · Santa#7885 · Florentina#7885 · Marty#7885 · Jaye#7885 · Dollie#7885
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Josi? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Josi and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle