Josif: meaning “God shall add”, origin & popularity

Meaning & origin

What it means

Josif 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

Josif 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 Serbo-Croatian usage, Josif developed from Ἰωσήφ. Josif 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

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1998. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Josif 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.

Combines direct and name-family evidence

Josif through the years

Babies since 1880: 10; 10 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year: 1998; 5 babies
2025: 0; Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20: —; Too few births to compare

Josif in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1998–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2003. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 248 as a first name in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Josif’s family of names

In Serbo-Croatian usage, Josif shares an earlier linguistic root with Josip. Josif has a related form in Joseph. In Croatian usage, Josif has a conventional equivalent in the French form Joseph.

Walk Josif’s family in the name graph

Around the world

Josif has relatives in 6 languages.

6 related names in 6 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 4

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 33

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Show 25 moreShow fewer

People named Josif

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Josif, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Virtue

Sibling ideas

Names that share Josif’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Josif

A sister for Josif

Your shortlist

Josif