Jocelyn

What Jocelyn means

Means “a Geat, a Goth”

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 *ga

Source: Wiktionary, “Jocelyn” (revision 93487261), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Jocelyn?

US: Falling: down from #133 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #775 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2007, when 5,293 girls got the name (#50 that year). First in the US records in 1900.

How common

• About 1 in 2,040 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 16,885 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in ND (2.22 per 1,000 girls), NV (1.52 per 1,000 girls), WV (1.38 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Jocelyn is #393 in the US and #1892 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Jocelyn were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Joselyn142 US · 3 E&W
• Jocelynn85 US
• Jacelynn25 US
• Josselyn24 US
• Joselin22 US
• Jacelyn21 US
• Joycelyn16 US
• Joselynn15 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Jocelin
• Joselin
• Joselyn
• Joslyn
• Joceline
• Jocelyne
• Jocelynn
• Jocelynne

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Jocelyn

Girls

• Abby#731Diminutive of Abigail, meaning “my Father's joy”^*
• Karla#799Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1964, with 2,060 babies; 340 in 2025
• Alyssa#453“a plant of the genus Alyssum”^*
• Allie#569Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #255 in 2015, #569 in 2025
• Allison#103Form of Elon, meaning “oak tree”^*
• Skyler#670Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #283 in 2015, #670 in 2025

For a brother

• Erick#366Editor’s note Down from #265 in 2015 to #366 in 2025 in the US
• Skyler#783Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #360 in 2015, #783 in 2025
• Carlos#150Spanish and Portuguese form of Charles, meaning “free man”^*
• Drew#553Diminutive of Andrew, meaning “manly”^*
• Garrett#564Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #269 in 2015, #564 in 2025
• William#9“will + helmet”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Germanic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Jocelyn’s. Rank is US 2025.