José is a predominantly
Spanish and
Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: in Spanish and in Portuguese (or ). In
French, the name
José, pronounced , is an old vernacular form of Joseph, which is also in current usage as a given name. José is also commonly used as part of male name composites, such as José Manuel, José Maria or Antonio José, and also in female name composites like Maria José or Marie-José.
José is also a
Belgian Dutch male given name, pronounced , and for which the female written form is
Josée as in French. In Netherlandic
Dutch however,
José is a female given name, and is pronounced ; it may occur as part of name composites like Marie-José or as a female first name in its own right; it can also be short for the name
Josina and even a Dutch hypocorism of the name
Johanna.