Josephine

Living with the name Josephine

Name a baby Josephine and the shortening starts right away. Grandma says Josie. Your partner says Jo. A friend tries Posy. You do not get much say in which one sticks, so it helps to like all of them. Some kids collect all three and use each in a different place. Spelling adds a second small hurdle, since the German and Scandinavian Josefine shows up often enough to confuse forms and online orders.

It is a feminine form of Joseph, a Hebrew name most sources read as "he will add." English speakers picked up the French Josephine largely through Napoleon's first wife, the Empress. Older relatives might also quote the line "Not tonight, Josephine," a joke that has long outlived its source. It usually gets a smile, not a groan, and kids rarely know what it means.

Three syllables, JOH-suh-feen, with the stress at the front and a long ee at the end. That ending gives it a polished finish, so it sits well with short or plain last names like Josephine Reed or Josephine Hall. Long surnames make it a mouthful, and a hyphenated one is a lot to write in first grade. A little girl called Josie sounds friendly and quick. A woman called Josephine sounds like she signs important papers. On a wedding invitation the full name looks lovely, and on a sports jersey Jo fits fine. Jo March from Little Women gives the short form a bookish, independent side.