Given name & surname
José
“God shall add”
José is a variant 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
José is a variant 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
José is a variant of Joseph. Joseph is the English and French form of the Hebrew name Yosef.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Spanish use, José is used as a form of Joseph. José is a variant 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
José is a variant 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
José’s family of names
In French usage, José has a diminutive in Jo. José shares a linguistic root with Joseph. In English usage, José has a related form in Jose.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
José has relatives in 44 languages.
52 related names in 44 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 55
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Yosefequivalent
- JoeEnglish
- GiuseppeItalian
- JosefGerman, Czech
- JozefDutch, Slovak
- Josefafeminine form · Portuguese, Spanish
- Jusufequivalent
- IosifRomanian
Show 47 moreShow fewer
- Josjeequivalent
- Josipequivalent
- Josifequivalent
- Josepolder form · Catalan, Slovene
- Iosephio
- SeumasScottish Gaelic
- Juozapasequivalent
- Язэпequivalent
- Osipequivalent
- يوسفequivalent
- Seffequivalent
- Jožeequivalent
- Ossipequivalent
- Juozasequivalent
- Joepequivalent
- Chuséequivalent
- ИосифRussian
- Nxusèborrowing · unm
- ജോസ്borrowing · Malayalam
- Djôzefcognate · Walloon
- जोजेderivative · kok
- ΙωσήφGreek
- JózefPolish
- Osypequivalent
- Jožkoequivalent
- Giüsèppeml
- JosepeBasque
- JosebaBasque
- JosèpOccitan
- IosephusLatin
- JósepIcelandic
- JózsefHungarian
- יוסףroot · Hebrew
- Ἰωσήφroot · Ancient Greek
- Xosésee also · Galician
- JoosefFinnish
- JozefoEsperanto
- JouzapasLithuanian
- JāzepsLatvian
- SeosamhIrish
- ΙώσηποςGreek
- იოსებიGeorgian
- JooseppiFinnish
- JoosepEstonian
- JožefSlovene
- ЙосифBulgarian
- ՀովսեփArmenian
People named José
- José SaramagoPortuguese novelist (1922–2010)
- José MujicaUruguayan guerrilla fighter and politician1935–2025
- José MourinhoPortuguese association football manager and former playerborn 1963
- José MartíCuban poet, philosopher and nationalist (1853-1895)
- José Luis Rodríguez ZapateroSpanish politicianborn 1960
- José EchegaraySpanish playwright (1832-1916)
- José de San MartínArgentine general and independence leader (1778–1850)
- José RizalFilipino nationalist, writer and polymath (1861–1896)
- José Raúl CapablancaCuban chess player (1888-1942)
Characters named José: José Luis Torrente (fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love José, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.