Name Awesome

Josey

#2,793 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Diminutive of Joseph

Josey has been given to 4,248 babies in the U.S. since 1915. In 2025 it ranked #2,793 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2012, with 106 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 76% girls, 24% boys all-time.

Babies named Josey, 2025

1 in 54,300

Josey over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Josey over time

In 2025, Josey went to 71% girls and 29% boys.

19152025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Josey: meaning, origin, and history

Diminutive of Joseph

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Josey means

Josey is a diminutive of Joseph.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Josey → Joseph. The family’s meaning is “(God) shall add”, recorded in English with the source elements Yoséf.

Origin, language, and formation

Josey is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Joseph and Josephine.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,231 girls were recorded with the name Josey between 1915 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 106 in 2012; its best national rank was #1,779 in 1998.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,162 in 2020 to #2,793 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,422 in 2015 to #2,793 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,017 boys were recorded with the name Josey between 1976 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 42 in 1989; its best national rank was #1,716 in 1988.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #4,481 in 2020 to #4,191 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #6,869 in 2015 to #4,191 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Josey?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 54,300
61 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 26,300
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#2,793
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
37,672 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Josey sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 37,672 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Josey. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Joseys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Josey was born before 2007 — so the typical Josey is around 18 today.

Median birth year
2007
About 18 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
28.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
67.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
3,186
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 28.0% of all recorded uses (905).

Is Josey rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−475
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−631
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−371
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.80×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
57.5%
Peak was 2012 (106)
Years since peak
13
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
8.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,779
1998

Spellings of Josey

Josey is not the most common spelling — Rose is, with 44.0% against Josey's 0.28%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Josey is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Josey was most concentrated in Ohio — about 1 in 12,500 girls, against 1 in 22,429 across all states with data. It was least common in California (1 in 100,000).

18 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Ohio1 in 12,500
  2. 2Tennessee1 in 12,500
  3. 3Texas1 in 12,500
  4. 4Georgia1 in 20,000
  5. 5Louisiana1 in 20,000
  6. 6North Carolina1 in 20,000
  7. 7Missouri1 in 25,000
  8. 8Alabama1 in 33,333

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Josey is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Josey was most concentrated in Indiana — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 580,026 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Indiana1 in —
  2. 2Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Josey has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Josey around the world

Where Josey ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2024
    #5,892
    in 2024
  • Canada
    1993–2004
    #2,752
    in 2004
  • South Australia
    1969–1989
    #692
    in 1989

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Josey by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#2,793
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 631
Best rank ever
#1,779
1998
Peak year
2012
106 that year
First recorded
1915
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,231
Count in 2025
61

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#4,191
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 290
Best rank ever
#1,716
1988
Peak year
1989
42 that year
First recorded
1976
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,017
Count in 2025
25

Names similar to Josey

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

JosefaJossieJoslynnJoslinJoselinJosiJosslynJosalynJosephJoslynRoseyJerseyJosetteDaiseyJoseJosselynRamseyJoshlynJoselineJoshuaLinseyJosilynJoscelynJosiah

Names with a curve like Josey

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Josey, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

AniAleksandraJesslynViktoriaChesneyTaliahKamariaSairaKalenaSamiaKeeganTalya

Sibling names for Josey

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Josey

Top names of 2012, Josey's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1998Girls' names starting with J