Jose
hoh-SAY
The name Jose is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Joseph, derived from the Hebrew Yosef, meaning “he will add” or “may YHWH add”. It is built on the Hebrew verbal root yasaf (“to add, to increase”).
The biblical narrative offers a folk-etymological wordplay in Genesis 30:24, where Rachel names her son Joseph saying “may the Lord add to me another son”.
The Greek New Testament rendered the name as Ioseph, the Latin Vulgate as Iosephus, and Iberian Romance flattened the medial vowel to give Jose.
What the name Jose means
The biblical bearers include the patriarch Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, sold into Egypt and rising to become vizier of the pharaoh; and Saint Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, husband of Mary and earthly father of Jesus.
The cult of Saint Joseph grew slowly in the medieval Latin Church, was promoted heavily by the Counter-Reformation, and was made universal by Pope Pius IX, who declared him patron of the universal Church in 1870.
In Spain and Portugal he became one of the most popular saints, and the name Jose a near-universal masculine choice.
The Spanish-speaking world has produced many influential bearers: Jose de San Martin (1778-1850), liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru; Jose Marti (1853-1895), Cuban poet and apostle of independence; Jose Saramago, the Portuguese novelist who won
the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998 for works such as Blindness; and Jose Mourinho, the football manager.
The name is carried by saints, presidents, footballers and Nobel laureates across three continents.
According to US Social Security Administration records, Jose first entered the top 1000 in 1915, climbed steadily with each wave of Hispanic immigration, and broke into the top 100 by 1971.
It reached its peak rank of 30 in 2002 and held the top 100 for over thirty years. By 2023 it stood at position 116. California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida show the highest concentrations.
Contemporary bearers include Major League Baseball player Jose Altuve and Spanish chef Jose Andres.
US popularity over time
Numerology and symbolism
Based on Pythagorean numerology — a traditional system linking name letters to numbers. Presented for cultural interest.
Famous people named Jose
Jose - similar names
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Ways to spell Jose
| Variant | Language |
|---|---|
| Yusuf | Arabic/Turkish |
| Joseph | English |
| Josè | French variant |
| Josef | German/Czech |
| Yosef | Hebrew |
| Giuseppe | Italian |
| Pepe | Spanish informal diminutive |