Josie

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Josie

Gender: Feminine, Masculine
Language: English
Etymology:
Josie is an English diminutive of the name Josephine. Josephine is a diminutive of the name Josephe, the French feminine form of Joseph, the English form of a Hebrew name, Yosef, or Iuceph. Originally it meant “May Jehovah Add,” or “Jehovah has added.”
-or-
Occasionally, in years past, the name Josie was found as a Scottish diminutive of Joseph.

History:
Josie was formed in the 19th century by shortening the newly popular name Josephine and adding the trendy Scottish diminutive ending “ie.”

Diminutive names that ended in “ie” were popular names for girls in the late 19th century, and that is when Josie was at its most popular.

Pronunciation: jo-zee.

Alternates: Josey, Josy, Josi, Josee, Joesie, Jodi, Jodie, Jody.

Famous Bearers:
Fictional Characters:
Josie and the Pussycats (1963-1982)
Comic book band.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.024 % named Josie

Popularity of Josie:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1850: 173rd most popular.
1875: 116th most popular.
1880: 116th most popular.
1881: 116th most popular.
1882: 122nd most popular.
1883: 133rd most popular.
1884: 124th most popular.
1885: 123rd most popular.
1886: 131st most popular.
1887: 136th most popular.
1888: 134th most popular.
1889: 153rd most popular.
1890: 146th most popular.
1891: 155th most popular.
1892: 152nd most popular.
1893: 164th most popular.
1894: 168th most popular.
1895: 175th most popular.
1896: 182nd most popular.
1897: 189th most popular.
1898: 197th most popular.
1899: 176th most popular.
1900: 193rd most popular.
1901: 199th most popular.
1902: 195th most popular.
1903: 201st most popular.
1904: 210th most popular.
1905: 209th most popular.
1906: 227th most popular.
1907: 247th most popular.
1908: 235th most popular.
1909: 249th most popular.
1910: 242nd most popular.
1911: 279th most popular.
1912: 274th most popular.
1913: 295th most popular.
1914: 283rd most popular.
1915: 299th most popular.
1916: 319th most popular.
1917: 306th most popular.
1918: 307th most popular.
1919: 290th most popular.
1920: 312th most popular.
1921: 320th most popular.
1922: 308th most popular.
1923: 320th most popular.
1924: 326th most popular.
1925: 332nd most popular.
1926: 328th most popular.
1927: 333rd most popular.
1928: 358th most popular.
1929: 339th most popular.
1930: 355th most popular.
1931: 347th most popular.
1932: 387th most popular.
1933: 340th most popular.
1934: 319th most popular.
1935: 326th most popular.
1936: 349th most popular.
1937: 331st most popular.
1938: 327th most popular.
1939: 352nd most popular,
1940: 351st most popular.
1941: 361st most popular.
1942: 373rd most popular.
1943: 401st most popular.
1944: 377th most popular.
1945: 387th most popular.
1946: 423rd most popular.
1947: 428th most popular.
1948: 424th most popular.
1949: 487th most popular.
1950: 517th most popular.
1951: 558th most popular.
1952: 629th most popular.
1953: 624th most popular.
1954: 602nd most popular.
1955: 623rd most popular.
1956: 560th most popular.
1957: 583rd most popular.
1958: 608th most popular.
1959: 595th most popular.
1960: 562nd most popular.
1961: 642nd most popular.
1962: 668th most popular.
1963: 673rd most popular.
1964: 723rd most popular.
1965: 744th most popular.
1966: 769th most popular.
1967: 860th most popular.
1968: 715th most popular.
1969: 763rd most popular.
1970: 814th most popular.
1971: 676th most popular.
1972: 687th most popular.
1973: 731st most popular.
1974: 697th most popular.
1975: 739th most popular.
1976: 688th most popular.
1977: 678th most popular.
1978: 728th most popular.
1979: 682nd most popular.
1980: 663rd most popular.
1981: 668th most popular.
1982: 650th most popular.
1983: 592nd most popular.
1984: 677th most popular.
1985: 768th most popular.
1986: 821st most popular.
1987: 852nd most popular.
1988: 753rd most popular.
1989: 643rd most popular.
1990: 656th most popular.
1991: 666th most popular.
1992: 647th most popular.
1993: 606th most popular.
1994: 453rd most popular.
1995: 375th most popular.
1996: 350th most popular.
1997: 370th most popular.
1998: 357th most popular.
1999: 341st most popular.
2000: 328th most popular.
2001: 284th most popular.
2002: 284th most popular.
2003: 309th most popular.
2004: 324th most popular.

Selected Sources:
The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Withycombe, 1977, 3rd ed.
A Dictionary of First Names, Hanks and Hodges, 1990
The Wordsworth Dictionary of First Names, Mcleod and Freedman, 1995

The Social Security Administration Actuarial Note 139 (www.ssa.gov) - For popularity stats 1880-Present
The 1880 U.S. Census- For popularity stats 1850-1880, and other information (it is available on-line at www.familysearch.org)