Josephine is a female given name. It is the English version of the French name Joséphine. In Greece, the female name Josephine is Io̱si̱fína and used mainly on the island of Crete. The feminine form of the name Joseph, which is taken from the Hebrew name Yosef, meaning "(YHWH) shall grow."

Variations

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.^[1] 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 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.

Translations

• جوزفين (Arabic)
• * ג'וזפין (Hebrew)
• Жазэфіна, Žazefina (Belarusian)
• Josefina, Fina, Josefa (Catalan)
• 约瑟芬, Yuēsèfēn (Chinese Simplified)
• 約瑟芬, Yuēsèfēn (Chinese Traditional)
• Josipa, Jozefina, Finka, Ina (Croatian)
• Jozefien, Josefien, Fien (Dutch)
• Josephine, Josephin (English)
• Josefine (German)
• Josefine (Danish)
• Ιωσηφίνα, Io̱si̱fína (Greek)
• જોસેફાઈન, Jōsēphā'īna (Gujarati)
• Josefiina (Finnish)
• Joséphine, Fifi, Josette, Josiane (French)
• जोसफिन, Jōsaphina (Hindi)
• Jozefina, Jozefin, Jozefa (Hungarian)
• Giuseppina (Italian)
• ジョセフィン, Josefin (Japanese)
• ಜೋಸೆಫೀನ್, Jōsephīn (Kannada)
• 조세핀, Josepin (Korean)
• Џозефин, Džozefin (Macedonian)
• ജോസഫൈൻ, Josephine (Malayalam)
• Жозефина, Jozyefina (Mongolian)
• जोसेफिन, Jōsēphina (Nepali)
• ژوزفین (Persian)
• Józefina (Polish)
• Josefina (Portuguese)
• Жозефина, Zhozefina (Russian)
• Iosefina (Samoan)
• Јосефина, Josefina (Serbian)
• Josefina (Spanish)
• Josefina (Swedish)
• ஜோசபின், Jōcapiṉ (Tamil)
• జోసెఫిన్, Jōsephin (Telugu)
• โจเซฟิน, Cosefin (Thai)
• Жозефіна, Zhozefina (Ukrainian)
• דזשאָסעפינע, Dzşʼásʻpynʻ (Yiddish)

Nicknames

Jobe, JJ, Jowse, Jody, Fi, Fientje, Fifi, Fike, Fina, Jael, Jo, Joephy, Joey, Joja, Jojo, Jos, Josa, Josie, Jossan, Jovi, Johnny, Jussus, Juza, Pepi, Peppa, Phinie, Posey, Posy, Posie, Sefi, Sefina, Sephine, Sophie, Ephine, Effy, Jo-Z, Joan, Jayla, Jay, Fini, Fine, Finka.

Male

• Joséphin Péladan (1858–1918), French novelist and martinist

People with the given name Josephine

Fictional characters

• Josephine Bloom, a character played by Marion Cotillard in the 2003 film Big Fish
• Josephine Balsamo, a.k.a. Countess Cagliosto, antagonist of Arsène Lupin in novels
• Josephine, Captain Corcoran's daughter in the comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore
• Josephine "Lena" Duchannes, second protagonist of the novel series Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
• Josephine "Jo" March, protagonist of the novel Little Women
• Josephine “Pepi” Mutzenbacher, protagonist of the novel Josephine Mutzenbacher
• Josephine Joey Potter, in the television series Dawson's Creek
• Dr Josephine Jo Karev, in the television series Grey's Anatomy
• Josephine Cherette Montilyet, the Chief Ambassador and Diplomat in Dragon Age Inquisition.
• Josephine Anwhistle, a fictional character in the series of novels A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
• Josephine Ada Lightbourne, a character in the television series The 100
• Josephine Barry, a character in the television series Anne with an E

See also

• Josephina (disambiguation)
• Josephine (disambiguation)
• Josie (name)
• Giuseppina (given name)
• "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk", a short story by Franz Kafka

References

External links

• Josephine database.
• Behind The Name.
• Etymology Online.
• United States Social Security Database.

Media related to Josephine (given name) at Wikimedia Commons