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    The surname Jocelyn

    A patronymic surname, carried by 658 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɒsəlɪn/ 2 syllables Soundex J245 Also a first name

    Jocelyn: #34,427 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Jocelyn #34,427, 658 people Jocelyn: #34,427 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#100Jimenez Jocelyn #34,427, 658 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Jocelyn is more common than 78.8% of them.

    Origin

    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).

    Jocelyn is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 658 people named Jocelyn in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 469,218 Americans. That is up 29% since 2000, when the Census counted 512.

    #34,427
    rank among US surnames
    658
    people in 2010
    0.2
    per 100,000 Americans
    +28.5%
    change since 2000 (was #40,265)

    Who is named Jocelyn

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    49% of people named Jocelyn identified as Black (not Hispanic), 41% as white (not Hispanic) and 8.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • Black (not Hispanic) 49%
    • White (not Hispanic) 41%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 8.1%
    • Two or more races 1.8%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%

    Compare: most common surnames among Black Americans.

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

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

    Surnames that sound like Jocelyn

    Jocelyn has the Soundex code J245, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code J245.

    Questions

    Where does the surname Jocelyn come 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…
    How common is the surname Jocelyn?
    658 people in the United States had the surname Jocelyn in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 469,218 Americans. It ranked 34,427th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Jocelyn?
    In the 2010 Census, 49% of people named Jocelyn identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 41% as white (not Hispanic).
    How do you pronounce Jocelyn?
    Jocelyn is /ˈd͡ʒɒsəlɪn/, 2 syllables.
    What type of surname is Jocelyn?
    Jocelyn is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Jocelyn getting more or less common?
    More common. 512 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 658 in 2010, up 29%.
    What are other spellings of Jocelyn?
    Jocelin, Joselin, Joselyn, Joslyn, Joceline and Jocelyne.
    Is Jocelyn also a first name?
    Yes. Jocelyn is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.