boys' name ★ peaked 2002

Jose

Meaning From Spanish/Portuguese José, from Hebrew Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #95 Trend → Stable

From Spanish/Portuguese José, from Hebrew.

Rank 2025
#95
among boys · ↓4 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,678
named Jose · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 464
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2002
12,916 babies
All-time total
596,732
#55 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Jose popularity over time

596,732 babies have been named Jose since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 910 910 91 – #123
1890s 27 947 974 97 +7% #149
1900s 15 1,627 1,642 164 +69% #108
1910s 69 5,899 5,968 597 +263% #130
1920s 211 14,447 14,658 1,466 +146% #108
1930s 209 12,298 12,507 1,251 -15% #113
1940s 193 16,818 17,011 1,701 +36% #120
1950s 288 31,440 31,728 3,173 +87% #104
1960s 398 42,043 42,441 4,244 +34% #56
1970s 724 66,390 67,114 6,711 +58% #44
1980s 839 86,647 87,486 8,749 +30% #45
1990s 741 119,042 119,783 11,978 +37% #32
2000s 365 115,743 116,108 11,611 -3% #28
2010s 102 55,186 55,288 5,529 -52% #52
2020s (to 2025) 39 23,075 23,114 3,852 -30% #88

Where Jose is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 3,641 2.13 #96
2027 3,610 2.11 #99
2028 3,583 2.10 #99
2029 3,561 2.08 #99
2030 3,542 2.07 #99

Where Jose is most popular

Boys named Jose per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.23 per 1,000. Strongest in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Jose born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Texas 5,260 5.97 +168%
Arizona 911 5.57 +150%
New Mexico 181 5.49 +147%
California 3,745 4.10 +84%
Nevada 191 3.35 +51%
Rhode Island 47 2.88 +30%
Oregon 212 2.79 +26%
Colorado 354 2.74 +23%
Nebraska 119 2.74 +23%
Kansas 174 2.54 +14%
Oklahoma 218 2.46 +11%
Florida 1,160 2.45 +10%
Maryland 278 2.33 +5%
Delaware 35 2.31 ≈ national
North Carolina 569 2.23 ≈ national
Washington 353 2.16 ≈ national
Georgia 538 2.12 -5%
District of Columbia 31 2.10 -6%
Illinois 530 2.07 -7%
Idaho 82 2.00 -10%
Iowa 128 1.86 -17%
Alabama 198 1.81 -19%
New Jersey 357 1.77 -20%
South Carolina 183 1.77 -20%
Arkansas 111 1.75 -21%
Tennessee 314 1.74 -22%
Louisiana 169 1.65 -26%
Connecticut 111 1.64 -26%
Virginia 303 1.60 -28%
Utah 150 1.57 -29%
Massachusetts 195 1.42 -36%
Indiana 226 1.41 -37%
New York 533 1.23 -45%
Kentucky 118 1.18 -47%
Wisconsin 139 1.17 -47%
South Dakota 20 1.07 -52%
Mississippi 59 1.04 -53%
Wyoming 6 1.04 -53%
Minnesota 119 0.970 -56%
Pennsylvania 245 0.923 -59%
Missouri 126 0.909 -59%
Michigan 163 0.796 -64%
Ohio 190 0.717 -68%
North Dakota 9 0.527 -76%
Hawaii 5 0.322 -86%
Alaska – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Jose

Jose is a top-100 name for boys in the United States, ranked #95 in 2025 with 3,678 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 596,732 American babies have been named Jose. Its peak came in 2002, when 12,916 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Jose stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Jose?

The median living Jose is about 31 years old; half are between 21 and 46. An estimated 524 thousand people named Jose are alive in the United States today.

median 31 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Jose year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 3,678 #95
2024 6 #14,266 3,784 #91
2023 8 #11,660 3,725 #93
2022 8 #11,679 4,031 #88
2021 7 #12,794 4,002 #89
2020 10 #9,867 3,855 #94
2019 6 #14,602 4,135 #92
2018 9 #10,959 4,318 #89
2017 6 #14,936 4,815 #81
2016 11 #9,722 5,119 #77
2015 11 #9,775 5,177 #80
2014 10 #10,512 5,485 #76
2013 6 #15,485 5,627 #76
2012 13 #8,864 6,041 #72
2011 11 #10,027 6,766 #65
2010 19 #6,765 7,703 #52
2009 12 #9,674 8,818 #43
2008 22 #6,244 9,826 #40
2007 25 #5,603 11,252 #35
2006 32 #4,510 11,604 #30
2005 37 #3,910 12,065 #30
2004 46 #3,294 12,187 #28
2003 32 #4,148 12,394 #30
2002 48 #3,035 12,868 #30
2001 56 #2,676 12,144 #34
2000 55 #2,686 12,585 #34
1995 73 #1,908 11,781 #35
1990 113 #1,401 11,519 #41
1985 90 #1,417 8,403 #49
1980 88 #1,411 8,323 #46
1975 81 #1,338 6,967 #48
1970 60 #1,586 5,691 #56
1965 42 #1,755 3,966 #89
1960 44 #1,707 3,915 #107
1955 24 #2,246 3,313 #104
1950 21 #2,157 2,638 #109
1945 16 #2,191 1,607 #132
1940 13 #2,359 1,169 #148
1935 19 #1,812 1,168 #135
1930 45 #1,108 1,600 #113
1925 15 #2,433 1,449 #125
1920 11 #2,997 1,241 #130
1915 7 #3,612 659 #174
1910 6 #2,281 249 #134
1905 5 #2,081 200 #108
1900 – – 161 #137
1895 – – 104 #149
1890 – – 93 #151
1885 – – 111 #123
1880 – – 84 #161

Famous people named Jose

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Jose P. Laurel Jose P. Laurel President of the Philippines from 1943 to 1945 1891–1959 · 19th century
  2. 2 Jose Maria Sison Jose Maria Sison Filipino communist leader (1939–2022) Contemporary
  3. 3 Jose Baxter Jose Baxter English footballer (born 1992) Contemporary
  4. 4 Jose Tomas Sanchez Jose Tomas Sanchez Filipino Archbishop and Cardinal (1929–2012) 1920–2012 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Jose, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Jose?

The median living Jose is about 31 years old. Half of all living Joses are between 21 and 46 years old.

How many people named Jose are alive today?

An estimated 524 thousand people named Jose are alive in the United States, based on 596,732 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Jose mean?

From Spanish/Portuguese José, from Hebrew.

How popular is the name Jose in 2025?

Jose ranked #95 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 3,678 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Jose?

596,732 babies have been named Jose in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Jose most popular?

Jose peaked in 2002, when 12,916 newborns received the name.

Is Jose a boy or girl name?

Jose is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Jose rising or falling?

Jose is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Jose become more popular?

Jose looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,542 boys named Jose in 2030, ranking around #99. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Jose?

Well-known people named Jose include Jose P. Laurel (politician), Jose Maria Sison (politician), Jose Baxter (soccer player).

Names like Jose

Names that sound and feel close to Jose: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Jose with similar names → More names starting with J →