Given name
Józef
“God shall add”
Józef is a form of Joseph. Yosef means “God shall add,” traditionally understood as a hope that God would add another son to the family.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Józef is a form of Joseph. Yosef means “God shall add,” traditionally understood as a hope that God would add another son to the family.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Józef is a form of Joseph. Joseph is the English and French form of the Hebrew name Yosef.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Polish use, Józef is used as a form of Joseph. Józef is a form of Joseph. The shared background comes through Joseph: The English and French name continues the biblical Hebrew form Yosef. The idea of adding is part of the name’s original family context, rather than a later personality interpretation.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Józef is a form of Joseph. The history of Joseph gives this family its wider story. In Genesis, Joseph is Jacob’s son who is taken to Egypt and later reconciled with his brothers. In the New Testament, Joseph is also the husband of Mary, giving the name a distinct place in Christian tradition.
Explained through its name family
Józef’s family of names
In Polish usage, Józef has a diminutive in Józeczek. Józef shares a linguistic root with Joseph. In Polish usage, Józef has a conventional equivalent in the Italian form Giuseppe.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Józef has relatives in 27 languages.
40 related names in 27 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Józewvariant · Polish
- Józioclipped form · Polish
- Ziutekdiminutive · Polish
- Józekclipped form · Polish
- Józefekdiminutive · Polish
- Józikdiminutive · Polish
- Józuśdiminutive · Polish
- Jóźkodiminutive · Polish
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 47
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Josephcognate · English, French
- YusufTurkish
- Yosefequivalent
- GiuseppeItalian
- JosefGerman, Czech
- JozefCzech, Slovak
- Jusufequivalent
- Iosifequivalent
Show 39 moreShow fewer
- Josifequivalent
- IosephLatin
- JosepCatalan
- JosipCroatian
- Seffequivalent
- Jožeequivalent
- Ossipequivalent
- Juozasequivalent
- Joepequivalent
- ОсипRussian
- ИосифRussian
- Йозефborrowing · Russian
- ΙωσήφGreek
- JoséSpanish, Portuguese
- Osypequivalent
- Jožkoequivalent
- Giüsèppequivalent
- Jooseppiequivalent
- Josebaequivalent
- Osipequivalent
- Joosefequivalent
- Józefinafeminine form
- Jüzawym
- Jüzepwym
- Juzawym
- JózsefHungarian
- ЙосипUkrainian
- Ἰώσηποςgr
- Ἰωσήφgr
- IosephusLatin
- JuozapasLithuanian
- יוסףYiddish
- JoorsiGreenlandic
- JozefoEsperanto
- ВосіпBelarusian
- ЮзафBelarusian
- ЯзэпBelarusian
- يوسفArabic
- Józefafeminine form
People named Józef
- Joseph ConradPolish-British writer (1857–1924)
- Józef PiłsudskiPolish politician, First Marshall, and Prime Minister (1867–1935)
- Józef GosławskiPolish sculptor and medallic artist (1908–1963)
- Józef Poniatowskinephew of King of Poland Stanislaus II; Marshal of France (1763-1813)
- Józef Ignacy KraszewskiPolish novelist (1812–1887)
- Józef CyrankiewiczPolish politician (1911–1989)
- Józef GlempCatholic cardinal, Primate of Poland (1981–2009)1929–2013
- Józef SzmidtPolish triple jumper (1935–2024)
- Józef OleksyPolish politician, Prime Minister of Poland (1946-2015)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Józef, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.