Josef
The German spelling of Józef, from the Hebrew for "he will add". Fewer than 600 men in Poland carry it, and most Poles have never met one: it stays exclusively male and holds steady rather than fading.
Josef Pronunciation
Josef is pronounced YO-sef (/ˈjɔsɛf/).
What Josef means
Where Josef comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Josef begins in Hebrew, as Yosef, and carries the sense "he will add." The older reading fills that out: niech Bóg pomnoży, may God increase. In Genesis the name belongs to the son of Jacob sold into Egypt, and his rise gave the name its long reach across languages.
The spelling Josef is the German form, the one that traveled into Polish records through Silesia and the Austrian partition offices. On a school register you will still find it beside Józef. Two spellings, one name. Its feminine counterpart is Józefa, less common now, once given freely.
The name mattered in daily life. It supplied the imieniny on the nineteenth of March, kept for Saint Joseph the carpenter. And it held to its plain first promise: he will add.
How many people are named Josef
1 in 36677 men in Poland is named Josef. 582 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1232 among male names.
Josef's popularity over time
4 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #1069 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2021.
Where Josef is most popular
Josef is most popular in Silesian, 612% above the national average (6 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lesser Poland (+138%).
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Silesian6 boys born+612%
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Lesser Poland2 boys born+138%
Josef as a middle name
Josef is a first name for 582 men in Poland and a middle name for another 1,243, a 32/68 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 213th, between Jacenty (1,247) and Nataniel (1,217).
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#211 Tytus1,248
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#212 Jacenty1,247
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#213 Josef1,243
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#214 Nataniel1,217
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#215 Manuel1,207