Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2012

Josey

Meaning A female given name, short for Josephine Gender Unisex · 76% girls Rank 2025 #2,793 Trend ↓ Falling 14%

A female given name, short for Josephine.

Rank 2025
#2,793
among girls · ↓475 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
86
named Josey · -20% vs 2024
How common
1 in 26,349
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2012
121 babies
All-time total
4,248
#3,431 all-time among girls
First recorded
1915
in Social Security records

Josey popularity over time

4,248 babies have been named Josey since 1915, 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
0.020.040.060.0818801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s 5 – 5 1 – #4,602
1920s 12 – 12 1 +140% #4,568
1930s 5 – 5 1 -58% #4,528
1940s 23 – 23 2 +360% #4,356
1950s 26 – 26 3 +13% #4,686
1960s 7 – 7 1 -73% #6,228
1970s 73 36 109 11 +1457% #4,787
1980s 225 281 506 51 +364% #2,813
1990s 594 262 856 86 +69% #1,782
2000s 882 150 1,032 103 +21% #1,798
2010s 905 155 1,060 106 +3% #1,894
2020s (to 2025) 474 133 607 101 -5% #2,123

Where Josey is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (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 girls Implied rank
2026 59 0.04 outside top 500
2027 58 0.04 outside top 500
2028 57 0.04 outside top 500
2029 56 0.03 outside top 500
2030 55 0.03 outside top 500

Where Josey is most popular

Girls named Josey per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.048 per 1,000. Strongest in Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Josey 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 Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Texas 64 0.080 +66%
Louisiana 5 0.057 +19%
Tennessee 9 0.057 +18%
North Carolina 12 0.053 +10%
Missouri 6 0.050 ≈ national
Ohio 11 0.046 ≈ national
Georgia 10 0.044 -8%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
California – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
New York – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Josey

Josey is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,793 in 2025 with 61 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1915, 4,248 American babies have been named Josey, about 76% girls and 24% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2012, when 121 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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 Josey stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Josey?

The median living Josey is about 19 years old; half are between 10 and 30. An estimated 4,200 people named Josey are alive in the United States today.

median 19 020406080100

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

Josey 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 61 #2,793 25 #4,192
2024 80 #2,318 27 #4,025
2023 74 #2,431 19 #5,155
2022 86 #2,199 21 #4,777
2021 89 #2,123 19 #5,012
2020 84 #2,162 22 #4,485
2019 86 #2,162 16 #5,680
2018 87 #2,172 16 #5,654
2017 93 #2,090 23 #4,391
2016 78 #2,402 18 #5,223
2015 76 #2,422 12 #6,874
2014 89 #2,146 17 #5,370
2013 99 #1,982 17 #5,284
2012 106 #1,894 15 #5,842
2011 97 #2,023 6 #11,519
2010 94 #2,102 15 #5,880
2009 104 #1,998 14 #6,257
2008 88 #2,239 16 #5,624
2007 86 #2,265 15 #5,787
2006 96 #2,057 10 #7,706
2005 93 #2,023 8 #8,686
2004 69 #2,460 18 #4,687
2003 91 #1,993 14 #5,405
2002 82 #2,089 18 #4,401
2001 76 #2,161 18 #4,376
2000 97 #1,798 19 #4,130
1995 75 #1,875 32 #2,423
1990 45 #2,621 38 #1,995
1985 12 #5,814 25 #2,198
1980 19 #4,054 29 #1,932
1975 9 #6,160 – –
1970 6 #7,457 – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 6 #4,658 – –
1915 5 #4,602 – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Josey?

The median living Josey is about 19 years old. Half of all living Joseys are between 10 and 30 years old.

How many people named Josey are alive today?

An estimated 4,200 people named Josey are alive in the United States, based on 4,248 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Josey mean?

A female given name, short for Josephine.

How popular is the name Josey in 2025?

Josey ranked #2,793 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 61 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Josey?

4,248 babies have been named Josey in the United States since 1915, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Josey most popular?

Josey peaked in 2012, when 121 newborns received the name.

Is Josey a boy or girl name?

Josey is used for both: about 76% of babies named Josey have been girls and 24% boys.

Is the name Josey rising or falling?

Josey has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Josey become more popular?

Josey is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 55 girls named Josey in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Josey

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

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