Jocelyn
Jocelyn was the 393rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 788 babies. Its best year was 2007, when it ranked 50th with 5,293 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 260 places. More babies were named Jocelyn in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin uncertain · Germanic, French
Say it JOS-uh-lin /ˈdʒɑsəlɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #393 girls, down 124 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 788girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20075,293 babies
- Total since 1880
- 113,412babies recorded
What does the name Jocelyn mean?
Jocelyn began as a medieval boy's name. Wiktionary traces it to Old French Joscelin, a diminutive of Germanic names beginning with Gaut, the tribal name of the Geats or Goths, and notes it was also used as a pet form of the Breton saint's name Josse (Judoc), which DMNES gives as the source of Joyce. It survived as a surname and returned as a girl's name. Its link with José is a folk etymology.
Gaut (Germanic, “tribal name (Geats/Goths)”)Judoc (Breton, “saint's name (Josse)”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. Two medieval sources (Gaut names and Josse) are both possible.
Other explanations you may read: feminine diminutive of José.
Related names: Joscelin, Joslyn, Joselyn, Joyce.
See also: Germanic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jocelyn', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Joyce', DMNES, Durham University
Nicknames for Jocelyn
The usual nicknames for Jocelyn are Joss and Jo. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Jocelyn in the last five years, 4 were named Jo, against fewer than 1 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joss | Traditional | #15,989 | 34 |
| Jo · also for Josephine, Josie, Joanna | Modern | #4,028 | 195 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Jocelyns go by each one.
Jocelyn popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 351 since 1975.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #393 | 788 |
| 2020 | #269 | 1,147 |
| 2010 | #65 | 3,997 |
| 2000 | #122 | 2,746 |
| 1990 | #217 | 1,318 |
| 1980 | #318 | 761 |
| 1970 | #484 | 413 |
| 1960 | #674 | 228 |
| 1950 | #739 | 136 |
| 1940 | #961 | 56 |
| 1930 | #887 | 67 |
| 1920 | #1,680 | 25 |
| 1910 | #2,592 | 5 |
| 1900 | #1,829 | 6 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Jocelyn, counting every spelling?
Jocelyn is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #281 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #393 for Jocelyn on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,195 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jocelyn | 788 | #393 | 4,601 |
| Joselyn | 142 | #1,504 | 905 |
| Joslyn | 63 | #2,732 | 531 |
| Jocelynn | 85 | #2,178 | 450 |
| Joseline | 32 | #4,402 | 170 |
| Joselin | 22 | #5,630 | 161 |
| Joselynn | 15 | #7,288 | 96 |
| Josselin | 7 | #12,491 | 63 |
| Jocelyne | 11 | #9,136 | 58 |
| Jocelin | 8 | #11,364 | 38 |
| Josseline | 12 | #8,592 | 33 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Jocelyn?
788 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jocelyn (0.22 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Jocelyn born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 11 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jocelyn.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jocelyn?
About 109,100 people born in the US named Jocelyn are alive today, with a median age of 22; half are between 15 and 31. That makes Jocelyn mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Jocelyn by state
How common Jocelyn was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Nevada (2.0×), Kansas (2.0×), West Virginia (1.9×), Oklahoma (1.9×), Nebraska (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Connecticut, Louisiana, South Carolina.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Jocelyn: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jocelyn, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Jocelyn · Sibling names for Jocelyn
Questions about the name Jocelyn
What does Jocelyn mean?
The origin of Jocelyn is uncertain: two medieval sources (Gaut names and Josse) are both possible.
How popular is the name Jocelyn?
Jocelyn was the 393rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 788 babies. Its best year was 2007, when it ranked 50th with 5,293 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 260 places. More babies were named Jocelyn in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Jocelyn a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Jocelyn in the US.
Where is Jocelyn most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jocelyn was most common in Nevada (1.16 per 1,000 girls), followed by Kansas and West Virginia.