Josefine

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 13 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Josefine is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name994 records spelled Josefine2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland

  Also written Joséfine

• Croatian given name309 records spelled Josefine8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sweden, Croatia, United States

  Languages: Croatian, Slovenian, Serbian

  Also written Јосефине, Joséfine

• a separate given name259 records spelled Josefine3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, Sweden, United States, United Kingdom

  Also written Joséfine, Josefiné

• Thai given name242 records spelled Josefine8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, United States, Philippines, Sweden

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Josephine, โจเซฟิน, โจเซฟีน, Joséphine

• Italian given name182 records spelled Josefine2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sweden, United States

  Also written Josefiné

• Polish given name96 records spelled Josefine38 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Poland, Czechia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Russian, Czech

  Also written Josephine, Джозефина, Иозефина, Josefin, Жозефин

38 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Josefine is also recorded in 3 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Norwegian, a female given name derived from French Joséphine

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Danish, a female given name, variant of Josephine

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In German, ) Josefina; Josefin; Josephine;

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 64 years between 1918–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Josefine Swobodab. 1861ATAustrian portrait painter
• Johanna Müller-Hermannb. 1868ATnot in their usual nameAustrian composer (1868-1941)
• Princess Nora, Marchioness of Mariñob. 1950LInot in their usual nameLiechtensteiner Princier
• Josefine Sundströmb. 1976SESwedish singer and writer
• Josefine Domesb. 1981DEGerman actor and songwriter
• Josefine Öqvistb. 1983SESwedish association football player
• Josefine Preußb. 1986DEGerman actress
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaasb. 1989NOnot in their usual nameNorwegian actor
• Josefine Fridab. 1996NONorwegian actress born 1996
• Lola Liefersb. 2008DEnot in their usual nameGerman actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 433 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Josefine?

We estimate roughly 35 thousand people bear Josefine (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Josefine have the most bearers?

Josefine is most frequently recorded in Germany, where it is most often spelled josefine.

Where is Josefine most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Josefine is densest in Sweden — about 1 in 529 people — even though Germany holds more of our records for it.

How common is Josefine compared with other names?

In Germany, Josefine is the 675th most common given name of 154,506 given names recorded there.

Is Josefine a male or female name?

Josefine is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Josefine mean?

Recorded meaning: a female given name from French Joséphine, masculine equivalent Josef