MEANING & HISTORY
What does José María mean?
José María is a compound given name made from two established biblical names. José corresponds to Joseph, conventionally God will add.
María corresponds to Mary and ultimately Miriam, whose deepest meaning remains debated. The compound is not a single ancient phrase with a new literal translation. Its two elements also reflect an established Spanish Christian naming pattern that can be used as one complete given-name unit.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Spanish
- /xoˌse maˈɾia/
- [xoˌse maˈɾi.a]
Jo · sé Ma · rí · a4 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
SpanishEtymology & source
a male given name
Wiktionary: José María (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name José María
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Jose Maria Sison
Filipino Maoist leader (1939–2022)
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Jose Zubiri III
Filipino politician
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
13
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Jose Maria Sison, Jose Zubiri III
The parts of this recorded form
These parts have their own entries. Their separate histories do not automatically create a single combined meaning.
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
José María in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to José María
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Josemari♂Blend of José and María
- Joemar♂Variant of Jomar, from José María
- Jomari♂Blend of Jose and Maria
- Cesaria·Cesarea form in the Caesar name family
- Josefa♀God will add; feminine form of Joseph
- Josefina♀Feminine form of José; God will add
- Alegria♀Joy or gladness in the Spanish word-name route
- Asteria·Starry
What rhymes with José María?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore José María further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q18755442 — José María (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Jose Maria Sison (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q18755442 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Jose Zubiri III (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q18755442 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — José María (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: José María (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.
- Wiktionary: José (English) (opens in a new tab)
Consulted related source-name etymology underlying the stated compound or shortening.
- Wiktionary: José (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Consulted related source-name etymology underlying the stated compound or shortening.