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Josefina

♀ Girl

Pronounced yoo-seh-FEE-nah /xo.se.ˈfi.na/High

Meaning: He will addHigh

In 30 seconds: Josefina is the Spanish feminine of Joseph, from the Hebrew Yosef meaning 'he will add'. It is a warm, classic name across the Spanish-speaking world.

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Origin HighSpanish, Portuguese, Swedish

MeaningHe will add

U.S. rank (2025)#1891 ↗ Rising

2025 U.S. births104 girls (0.01% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1930

Total births (all-time)≈ 13,928

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Josefina is the Spanish feminine form of Joseph, which goes back to the Hebrew Yosef, read as 'he will add' or 'God will increase'. The flowing '-ina' ending makes it a graceful, fully feminine counterpart to José. Argentine field hockey Olympian Josefina Sruoga is one bearer of the name.

Josefina has a soft four-syllable lilt and ties into a broad family of forms like Josefin and Josefine across Spanish and Scandinavian use. All of them keep the hopeful 'he will add' meaning carried down from Joseph.

Did you know? The meaning usually attached to Josefina is 'he will add', and that core idea is what gives the name most of its long-term appeal.

Overall data confidence 86%

Behind the Name - Josefina — etymology, usage, pronunciation, and related formsU.S. Social Security Administration — 2024 popularity rank and count supplied in the batch input CSV

Variations

JosefinJosefineJósefínaJosèfinaJosepa

Nicknames

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Famous Bearers

★Josefina Sruoga (1990–present)
Argentine field hockey player who won a silver medal with the national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

If you like Josefina…

Josephine— The English and French counterpart of Josefina with the same meaning.

Ariadna— a similarly popular pick

Lucianna— another Portuguese name

Catarina— shares Josefina's Portuguese roots

Evaluna— lands in the same popularity range

Explore names like Josefina

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Josefina mean?

Josefina is usually explained as meaning 'he will add' and is most often linked with Spanish tradition.

How do you pronounce Josefina?

It's commonly said yoo-seh-FEE-nah /xo.se.ˈfi.na/.

Is Josefina a boy or girl name?

In this batch and in recent U.S. usage data, Josefina is used as a girl name.

How popular is Josefina?

In 2024, Josefina ranked #2072 in the U.S. for girls, with 93 births recorded.