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Josephine (F)>

Josephine (female)

Variants:Joeséphine (F) Josée (F) Josefina (F) Josepha (F) Józefa (F) Jozefien (F) Seosaimhin (F)
Diminutive(s):Jo (F) Jos (F) Phine (F)
Diminutive for:Giuseppina (F) Josèphe (F)
Pet Name(s):Fifi (F) Josette (F) Josie (F) Phinie (F) Posy (F)
Masculine form:Joseph (M)
   
Source(s): The Oxford Names Companion, OUP
"Scottish Forenames" - Donald Whyte, FGH, FSG

Private correspondents [TL3, GCB]
Notes:

English, Dutch and French female form of Joseph [q.v.] from Hebrew "Jehovah gives children".  The French form is: Joséphine.

Josephine arose as a a diminutive of the French female name Josèphe which is now less popular than Joséphine.

Fifi is a French pet name, Posy is English.

A correspondent [GCB] has noted the use of the pet name Phinie for the "In Memorian" newspaper record for a woman in Banffshire, Scotland.  On her birth record her given name was Euphemia but when she married it was under the name Josephine.  We believe the pet name referred to the latter forename, as a variant of Phine, but have recorded it under both.