Recorded 1915–2025 · United States
Josey was most popular in 2012, when 121 American babies were given the name — ranking #3,057 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,910, with 86 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 4,248 people named Josey.
Josey first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1915, which makes it about 110 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 67 of the 111 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 4,248 American births named Josey 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 4,145 are estimated to be alive today.
86 American babies were named Josey in 2025, ranking #3,910 that year.
Josey is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 100 births a year, against 107 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -6% 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 Josey is a unisex name — 76.1% of the 4,248 Americans given it were girls and 23.9% were boys. It changed hands: since 1990 it has gone mainly to girls, having gone mainly to boys before that. In births since 2016 it is 80% girls and 20% 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 4,145 Americans named Josey are alive today — 98% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 20 years old, and half are between 11 and 31.
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 Josey on the interactive charts
About · Privacy · Contact
Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org