Jocelyn

Where Jocelyn comes from

From the Middle English male given name from Old French Joscelin, German Gautzelin, diminutive of names beginning with the tribal name Gaut (“a Geat, a Goth”), the root form of which probably comes from Proto-Germanic *Gautalinþiz (from *gautaz + *linþaz); also used as a diminutive form of the Breton name Josse (= Joyce). It survived as a surname and was revived as a given name in the nineteenth century. * Jocelyn is currently popular among U.S. Hispanics, and in the Philippines, by folk etymology explained as a feminine diminutive form of José (Joseph).
— Wiktionary's entry for Jocelyn
  • Germanic
  • 3 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1900
    First appearance
    #1,723 among girls, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1943
    Jocelyn Bell Burnell born
    British astrophysicist
  3. 1965
    Jocelyn Angloma born
    French football player and manager
  4. 2007
    Peak, #50
    5,293 babies named Jocelyn — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2015
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #133.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from the Germanic languages.
  • A female given name from the Germanic languages.
Namesakes
  • Jocelyn Bell Burnell · British astrophysicist, born 1943
  • Jocelyn Angloma · French football player and manager, born 1965
  • Jocelyn Pook · Composer, pianist, born 1960
  • Jocelyn Brando · American actress, 1919–2005
  • Jocelyn Quivrin · French actor, 1979–2009

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.