Joseph is a popular male given name of Hebrew origin. It means "he will add" or "increase". According to the Bible, Joseph was the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus Christ.
The name Jozef is the Slavic version of Joseph. It is particularly common in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and other Slavic countries. In these cultures, Jozef is often associated with St. Joseph, the patron saint of workers and a protective figure in Catholicism.
Historically, Jozef has been used as a given name for centuries. Famous individuals named Jozef include Jozef Tiso, the president of Slovakia during World War II, and Jozef Pilsudski, the first head of state of Poland.
The name Jozef experienced periods of popularity and decline over the course of a century. From 1914 to 1924, there were consistent but not exceptionally high numbers of births with this name, ranging from 7 to 15 per year. However, it's notable that there was a gap between 1925 and 1967 without any recorded births named Jozef.
From the late 1960s onwards, the popularity of the name Jozef fluctuated significantly. There were years with fewer than 10 births (like 1973, 1975, 1977), but also periods of peak popularity, such as between 1988 and 1996 when the number of annual births ranged from 18 to 38. The late 1990s and early 2000s saw continued popularity with over 20 births each year.
However, since around 2010, the popularity of the name Jozef has seemed to decline once more, with fewer than 30 births recorded annually. The most recent years show a stable but low level of usage, with between 18 and 22 births per year from 2020 to 2023.
Overall, while Jozef was once a popular name in the early 20th century and enjoyed periods of resurgence later on, it appears that its popularity has waned in recent years.