Josef is a distinctive choice, ranked #1798 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Josef in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#1798
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About the Name Josef
Josef has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 721 places in five years. It was most popular in 1999 at #283 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Josef is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Josef in their class.
⭐ Famous People Named Josef
Josef Stürmann — Josef Stürmann was a Munich philosopher who had studied with the phenomenologist Alexander Pfänder.
Josef Hoffmann — Josef Hoffmann was an Austrian-Moravian architect and designer.
Josef Jandač — Josef Jandač is a Czech ice hockey former coach of the Czech national team.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Josef
Unlikely. With around 14 UK babies named Josef per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Josef in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Josef has been fairly steady, ranked #1,798 in 2025 against #1,723 in 2020. Its best recorded position was #283 in 1999.
Josef is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Josef include: Josef Jandač and Josef Kajetán Tyl. Short summaries for each appear below.
Josef does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Josefs in the wild.
14
UK babies named Josef (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
< 1
In a school of 600
↓ 75 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Josef
Almost certainly the only Josef in the class
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UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Josef
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story