José is also commonly used in the Dutch-speaking world, where it is firmly unisex. The distribution among the genders differs per country: in Belgium the name is significantly more common on men, whereas the reverse is true for the Netherlands.• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/José (in Dutch; shows the prevalence of the name in the Netherlands in 2017) • http://www.names.be/voornamen.html?met=Jose&sort=beldesc (in Dutch; shows the prevalence of the name in Belgium in 2009)For men, José is a short form of Josephus and its variants (such as Josefus).For women, it is a short form of Josepha and Josephina and their many variants. This includes the French Joséphine, which I would say makes it much more clear how José can be a feminine name.In Dutch, José can be pronounced in two ways, namely:• /jo:.'se:/ • /jo:.'ze:/ (this is the most French-based of the two)Technically, it's possible that there are Dutch people who pronounce José with the ʒ (French J), but I have never encountered this in any shape or form.You can listen to the Dutch pronunciation here:• https://nl.wiktionary.org/wiki/José (in Dutch) • https://nl.forvo.com/search/José/nl (in Dutch)
While José (/xo.ˈse/) is the original form of this name and the preferred choice when pronouncing Joseph's name, the abundance of "José X" combination names* (such as José María or José Miguel) where the accent falls onto the second name exclusively (i.e. "josemaRÍa", "josemiGUEL") has made it so that many men go by Jose (/ˈxo.se/) instead (they may also spell it José because that's their official name even though that's not how they stress it).* When José goes in second position (e.g. Camilo José), it retains its original stress (i.e. "camilojoSÉ").
In certain Latin American and Spanish cultures, Jose is a feminine middle name in honor of Saint Joseph and girls may be called Maria-Jose (boys called Jose-Maria, also) such as the skier María José Rienda. [noted -ed]
― Anonymous User 1/7/2019
2
José is also a French name, pronunced zhoo-ZE. [noted -ed]
In 2018, 8 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Jose who is registered male with the Social Security Administration. It is the 103rd most common male first name for living U.S. citizens.
― Anonymous User 10/11/2018
0
Actually, I have read that in Spain this is a common second name for girls, just as Maria is for boys. So for example, a girl may be Maria Jose and a boy might be Jose Maria. Interesting.
• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/José (in Dutch; shows the prevalence of the name in the Netherlands in 2017)
• http://www.names.be/voornamen.html?met=Jose&sort=beldesc (in Dutch; shows the prevalence of the name in Belgium in 2009)
For men, José is a short form of Josephus and its variants (such as Josefus).
For women, it is a short form of Josepha and Josephina and their many variants. This includes the French Joséphine, which I would say makes it much more clear how José can be a feminine name.
In Dutch, José can be pronounced in two ways, namely:
• /jo:.'se:/
• /jo:.'ze:/ (this is the most French-based of the two)
Technically, it's possible that there are Dutch people who pronounce José with the ʒ (French J), but I have never encountered this in any shape or form.
You can listen to the Dutch pronunciation here:
• https://nl.wiktionary.org/wiki/José (in Dutch)
• https://nl.forvo.com/search/José/nl (in Dutch)