Hi Jennifer

I’m a horse rider, and at a stable yard where I work, I met a stallion by the name of Joepie. I’ve been trying to find the meaning of his name ever since. He was born in the Netherlands, and I assume it is a Dutch name. We pronounce it “Yoo-pey”. Any ideas?

Thank you!
Firn H.
(yes, I do have to spell my name to everyone)

Dear Firn,

Joep is the Dutch diminutive (nickname) for the formal name, Jozef. As you can surmise, Jozef is the Slavic/Dutch form of the name Joseph, which means “God Will Increase.” So Joepie would be equivalent to the English nickname Joey.

Sincerely,
Jennifer