Josephine’s Notebook: Personalized Journal for Josephine
Josephine's Notebook puts her name front and center, written in flowing script across a soft watercolor apple blossom design.
- 160 lined pages
- 6" x 9" paperback
- Watercolor apple blossom cover with "Josephine's Notebook" on the front
- Printed and shipped by Amazon
Josephine: meaning and origin
Josephine is the English, German and Dutch form of the French Joséphine, according to Behind the Name. Wikipedia explains that Joséphine is a feminine form of Joseph, from the Hebrew Yosef, “he shall add” or “he shall grow”. It was originally a diminutive of the French Josèphe and became the standard form in the 19th century. Wikipedia says the name started gaining popularity after 1800 because of the high profile of Joséphine de Beauharnais, who became Napoleon’s wife and Empress of the French.
Nicknames and variants
Josephine has a long list of short forms. Behind the Name lists Jo, Josie, Josey, Jody, Jodie, Jodi, Joey, Joetta, Posie and Posy in English, and Fien and Pien in Dutch, while Wikipedia adds Fifi and Jojo. Posy is the surprise: a soft, flowery nickname hidden inside a classic name.
Famous people named Josephine
Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoleon and Empress of the French from 1804 until their marriage was annulled in 1810. Josephine Baker, an American-born French dancer and singer, was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture and also worked as a spy for the French Resistance. And inventor Josephine Cochrane built the first successful hand-powered dishwasher, patented in 1886.
Is Josephine a popular name?
Josephine was a strong American name for decades. US Social Security data has it 47th in the 1880s and at its best rank, 23rd, in the 1910s. Its biggest decade by count was the 1920s, with more than 69,000 American girls named Josephine. It fell to 195th in the 1950s and dropped out of the top 200, then returned at 132nd in the 2010s. Wikipedia notes it was 107th in 2017.
Josephine trivia
The empress who made the name famous was not born Josephine. Wikipedia gives her birth name as Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie. Her first husband, Alexandre de Beauharnais, was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she was imprisoned until five days after his execution.
Gift ideas that suit a Josephine
- For an inventor. Sketches and ideas, in honor of dishwasher inventor Josephine Cochrane.
- For a dancer. Rehearsal notes and routines, for a name shared with Josephine Baker.
- For a history buff. Napoleonic timelines, for a name tied to Empress Joséphine.
- For a new baby. Josephine is climbing again and comes with sweet nicknames like Josie and Posy.
How Josephine can use it
Any Josephine, of any age. The 6" x 9" size is roomy enough for proper writing and small enough for a handbag or school bag. With 160 plain lined pages there’s no fixed layout, so it can be a diary, a gratitude journal, a study notebook, a recipe book or a home for to-do lists. Notebooks tend to multiply in drawers, but one with her name on the front is instantly hers.
The little things that make it hers
There’s something about seeing your own name in print. It makes a notebook feel like it belongs to you, which is a good reason to fill it. It also means Josephine can pick hers out of a pile in a second, at school, at work or on the kitchen counter.
Frequently asked questions
How big is Josephine’s Notebook? About the size of a trade paperback book: 6 x 9 inches (15.2 x 22.9 cm), 160 lined pages.
Where do I buy it? It’s sold on Amazon in the US, Australia and the UK. Amazon prints and ships each copy and handles delivery and returns.
Do you have other names? Yes, the same apple blossom design comes in hundreds of girls’ names. Start at all name notebooks or our personalized name notebooks guide.
Get Josephine's Notebook on Amazon
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