Joyce
Girl nameJoyce has been given to 512,232 babies in the U.S. since 1882. It peaked in 1942.
Meaning & origin /d͡ʒɔɪs/
Medieval (Middle English) given name from Old French Josse, name of a seventh century saint Latinized as Iodocus, from Breton Iodoc, diminutive of iudh (“lord”), from Proto-Celtic *yowdos.
Origin: Celtic languages
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
512,232
Peak year
1942 (16,807 babies)
Rank in 2025
Below top 1000
First recorded
1882
10-year trend
▼ -31%
Gender split
99% girls / 1% boys
Famous people named Joyce
Joyce Banda
4th President of Malawi
Joyce Carol Oates
American author (born 1938)
Jane Seymour
British actress
Joyce DiDonato
American opera mezzo-soprano
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Joyce.
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