Recorded 1900–2025 · United States
Josef was most popular in 1999, when 220 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,666 that year. In 2025 it ranked #6,099, with 44 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 9,158 people named Josef.
Josef first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1900, which makes it about 125 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 122 of the 126 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 9,158 American births named Josef between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 8,102 are estimated to be alive today.
44 American babies were named Josef in 2025, ranking #6,099 that year.
Josef is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 60 births a year, against 109 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -45% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Josef is a boy’s name — 0.0% of the 9,158 Americans given it were girls and 100.0% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 8,102 Americans named Josef are alive today — 88% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 31 years old, and half are between 21 and 44.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Josef on the interactive charts
About · Privacy · Contact
Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org