girls' name ★ peaked 2007

Jocelyn

Meaning a Geat, a Goth Gender Girl Rank 2025 #393 Trend ↓ Falling 39%

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…

Rank 2025
#393
among girls · ↓4 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
788
named Jocelyn · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,040
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2007
5,304 babies
All-time total
113,412
#341 all-time among girls
First recorded
1900
in Social Security records

Jocelyn popularity over time

113,412 babies have been named Jocelyn since 1900, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.751.52.25318801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s 6 – 6 1 – #1,829
1910s 142 – 142 14 +2267% #1,452
1920s 472 – 472 47 +232% #783
1930s 642 – 642 64 +36% #730
1940s 688 – 688 69 +7% #890
1950s 2,966 – 2,966 297 +331% #459
1960s 2,765 – 2,765 277 -7% #493
1970s 5,215 32 5,247 525 +90% #267
1980s 8,787 90 8,877 888 +69% #238
1990s 20,884 123 21,007 2,101 +137% #122
2000s 38,389 95 38,484 3,848 +83% #50
2010s 26,357 11 26,368 2,637 -31% #65
2020s (to 2025) 5,748 – 5,748 958 -64% #269

Where Jocelyn is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 726 0.45 #428
2027 677 0.42 #456
2028 637 0.40 #481
2029 606 0.38 #489
2030 580 0.36 outside top 500

Where Jocelyn is most popular

Girls named Jocelyn per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.567 per 1,000. Strongest in Nevada, Kansas, and West Virginia.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Jocelyn born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Nevada 54 1.16 +105%
Kansas 64 1.11 +96%
West Virginia 29 1.11 +95%
Oklahoma 80 1.09 +92%
Nebraska 39 1.08 +91%
Arizona 139 0.991 +75%
California 799 0.951 +68%
Texas 678 0.843 +49%
Utah 70 0.841 +48%
North Dakota 11 0.837 +48%
Arkansas 43 0.814 +43%
Iowa 47 0.804 +42%
Idaho 25 0.747 +32%
New Mexico 18 0.740 +31%
Montana 10 0.739 +30%
Kentucky 63 0.737 +30%
Missouri 86 0.714 +26%
Minnesota 77 0.714 +26%
Wisconsin 73 0.709 +25%
Oregon 46 0.706 +25%
South Dakota 10 0.700 +24%
Colorado 78 0.699 +23%
Indiana 98 0.698 +23%
Pennsylvania 164 0.694 +22%
Ohio 164 0.691 +22%
Illinois 146 0.638 +12%
Washington 90 0.623 +10%
Maryland 65 0.613 +8%
Tennessee 92 0.581 ≈ national
North Carolina 131 0.575 ≈ national
Virginia 95 0.557 ≈ national
Florida 237 0.554 ≈ national
Alabama 50 0.533 -6%
Georgia 115 0.506 -11%
Massachusetts 61 0.505 -11%
New York 178 0.449 -21%
Mississippi 21 0.449 -21%
New Jersey 73 0.404 -29%
Michigan 72 0.395 -30%
South Carolina 34 0.378 -33%
Louisiana 33 0.377 -34%
Connecticut 18 0.309 -45%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Jocelyn

Jocelyn is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #393 in 2025 with 788 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1900, 113,412 American babies have been named Jocelyn. Its peak came in 2007, when 5,304 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Jocelyn stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Jocelyn?

The median living Jocelyn is about 21 years old; half are between 14 and 31. An estimated 110 thousand people named Jocelyn are alive in the United States today.

median 21 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Jocelyn year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 788 #393 – –
2024 813 #389 – –
2023 890 #346 – –
2022 1,017 #315 – –
2021 1,093 #293 – –
2020 1,147 #269 – –
2019 1,520 #200 – –
2018 1,560 #196 – –
2017 1,843 #163 – –
2016 2,105 #147 6 #11,370
2015 2,453 #133 – –
2014 2,764 #115 – –
2013 3,152 #99 – –
2012 3,232 #93 5 #13,159
2011 3,731 #71 – –
2010 3,997 #65 – –
2009 4,118 #71 10 #7,980
2008 4,372 #67 8 #9,398
2007 5,293 #50 11 #7,329
2006 4,370 #73 6 #11,287
2005 3,681 #87 16 #5,150
2004 3,743 #85 16 #5,117
2003 3,718 #87 6 #10,181
2002 3,521 #92 6 #9,984
2001 2,827 #123 6 #9,857
2000 2,746 #122 10 #6,557
1995 2,193 #148 13 #4,648
1990 1,318 #217 8 #6,103
1985 869 #287 10 #4,196
1980 761 #318 5 #6,717
1975 400 #468 5 #5,868
1970 413 #484 – –
1965 292 #557 – –
1960 228 #674 – –
1955 383 #463 – –
1950 136 #739 – –
1945 72 #890 – –
1940 56 #961 – –
1935 51 #968 – –
1930 67 #887 – –
1925 48 #1,112 – –
1920 25 #1,680 – –
1915 11 #2,616 – –
1910 5 #2,592 – –
1905 – – – –
1900 6 #1,829 – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Jocelyn

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Jocelyn Brando Jocelyn Brando American actress (1919–2005) Contemporary
  2. 2 Jocelyn Bell Burnell Jocelyn Bell Burnell Northern Irish physicist (born 1943) Contemporary
  3. 3 Jocelyn Pook Composer and pianist b. 1960 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Jocelyn Angloma French football manager (born 1965) Contemporary
  5. 5 Jocelyn Quivrin Jocelyn Quivrin French actor (1979–2009) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Jocelyn, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Jocelyn?

The median living Jocelyn is about 21 years old. Half of all living Jocelyns are between 14 and 31 years old.

How many people named Jocelyn are alive today?

An estimated 110 thousand people named Jocelyn are alive in the United States, based on 113,412 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Jocelyn mean?

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…

How popular is the name Jocelyn in 2025?

Jocelyn ranked #393 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 788 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Jocelyn?

113,412 babies have been named Jocelyn in the United States since 1900, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Jocelyn most popular?

Jocelyn peaked in 2007, when 5,304 newborns received the name.

Is Jocelyn a boy or girl name?

Jocelyn is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Jocelyn rising or falling?

Jocelyn is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Jocelyn become more popular?

Jocelyn is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 580 girls named Jocelyn in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Jocelyn?

Well-known people named Jocelyn include Jocelyn Brando (actor), Jocelyn Bell Burnell (astronomer), Jocelyn Pook (composer).

Names like Jocelyn

Names that sound and feel close to Jocelyn: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Jocelyn with similar names → More names starting with J →