# Joyce (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/joyce/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “lord” |
| Pronunciation | /d͡ʒɔɪs/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Choyce |
| US babies named this | 512,232 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,900 / 509,332 (99% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 804, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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.

## What it means

Joyce is grouped under god.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 264 | 972 |
| 2012 | 298 | 890 |
| 2013 | 328 | 820 |
| 2014 | 353 | 796 |
| 2015 | 332 | 844 |
| 2016 | 385 | 738 |
| 2017 | 325 | 836 |
| 2018 | 284 | 940 |
| 2019 | 287 | 925 |
| 2020 | 261 | 977 |
| 2021 | 274 | 954 |
| 2022 | 269 | 984 |
| 2023 | 237 | 1,057 |
| 2024 | 241 | 1,042 |
| 2025 | 226 | 1,074 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5 | 11,257 |
| 2004 | 6 | 10,633 |
| 2007 | 5 | 13,346 |
| 2012 | 6 | 11,495 |
| 2013 | 5 | 13,054 |
| 2014 | 7 | 10,158 |
| 2015 | 8 | 9,143 |
| 2016 | 5 | 13,173 |
| 2017 | 6 | 11,448 |
| 2019 | 7 | 10,257 |
| 2020 | 5 | 13,009 |
| 2021 | 6 | 11,402 |
| 2023 | 6 | 11,495 |
| 2024 | 11 | 7,493 |
| 2025 | 7 | 10,164 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 46 | 804 |
| 2012 | 29 | 1,150 |
| 2013 | 40 | 925 |
| 2014 | 32 | 1,094 |
| 2015 | 24 | 1,362 |
| 2016 | 37 | 975 |
| 2017 | 32 | 1,082 |
| 2018 | 20 | 1,526 |
| 2019 | 14 | 1,940 |
| 2020 | 13 | 2,042 |
| 2021 | 16 | 1,785 |
| 2022 | 21 | 1,452 |
| 2023 | 13 | 2,063 |
| 2024 | 15 | 1,894 |
| 2025 | 22 | 1,407 |

## People named Joyce

- Joyce Banda, 4th President of Malawi
- Joyce Carol Oates, American author (born 1938)
- Joyce DiDonato, American opera mezzo-soprano
- Joyce Jonathan, French singer
- Joyce Meyer, American author
- Joyce Cary, Anglo-Irish writer (1888-1957)
- Joyce Van Patten, American actress
- Joyce Cooper, British swimmer, Olympic silver medallist (1909–2002)
- Joyce DeWitt, American actress
- Joyce Brothers, American psychologist and columnist (1927–2013)
- Joyce King, Australian sprinter (1920–2001)
- Joyce Compton, American film actress (1907-1997)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.