Józefa
Around 41,000 Polish women carry it, yet it's barely given anymore: a name passed down, not freshly chosen. It's the feminine of Józef, from a root meaning "he will add," a Polish wish that God add good things.
Józefa Pronunciation
Józefa is pronounced yoo-ZE-fah (/juˈzɛfa/).
What Józefa means
Where Józefa comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Józefa is the feminine form of Józef. They travel together. The meaning handed down for it is plain, he will add, and in Polish that opens into a wish, niech Bóg przyda dobra, may God add good things. The name reads as a small request for increase.
The variants stand close. Iosif carries the name eastward through the Slavic languages, while Józef remains its masculine partner at home. Feminine forms like Józefa often followed a male relative already named, a Józef answered by a Józefa in the next generation.
Józefa keeps her own name-day, chiefly 20 March, a day after Józef on 19 March. Look down a school register and you may find her filed near the Józefs, one syllable longer, holding the same old wish that good be added.
How many people are named Józefa
1 in 544 women in Poland is named Józefa. 41,432 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #210 among female names.
Józefa's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been climbing since 2025.
Where Józefa is most popular
Józefa is most popular in Pomeranian, 633% above the national average (2 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Silesian (+375%).
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Pomeranian2 girls born+633%
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Silesian2 girls born+375%
Józefa as a middle name
Józefa is a first name for 41,432 women in Poland and a middle name for another 75,437, a 35/65 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 40th, between Marianna (77,344) and Justyna (74,665).
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#38 Natalia79,190
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#39 Marianna77,344
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#40 Józefa75,437
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#41 Justyna74,665
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#42 Kazimiera73,888