Joceline
A feminine name with French origins meaning "small and playful".
Name Census estimates that about 1,545 living Americans carry the first name Joceline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Joceline today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joceline births was 1996 (117 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joceline. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 221,847 Americans
Peak year
1996
117 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,213
Tracked since 1984
Census
Joceline in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,722 people with the first name Joceline, which placed it at #8,420 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#8,420
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,722 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
74.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joceline
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joceline is Hispanic at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and White (8.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Joceline described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Joceline at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino74.9% · 1,290
- Black or African American12.1% · 209
- White8.8% · 151
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 53
- Two or more races0.8% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Popularity
Joceline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Joceline from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 714 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Joceline by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Joceline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jocelines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Joceline, while Oregon, New Jersey, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 98 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Joceline
The name Joceline originates from the Late Latin name Iocalina, which was derived from the Late Latin word iocus, meaning "jest" or "game." The name likely emerged in regions where Late Latin was spoken, such as parts of what is now France, Italy, and Spain, during the medieval period.
The name Joceline is believed to have been first used as a feminine name, although its masculine counterpart, Jocelin, also exists. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Joceline dates back to the 12th century, when a French noblewoman named Joceline de Courtenay lived. She was the daughter of Renaud de Courtenay and was known for her involvement in the political affairs of the time.
In the 13th century, a Benedictine nun named Joceline of Furness became known for her biographical work on the life of St. Patrick. Born in England around 1180, she wrote the "Life of St. Patrick" in Latin, which is considered one of the earliest biographical accounts of the patron saint of Ireland.
Another notable figure with the name Joceline was Joceline of Brakelond, a 12th-century English chronicler and monk. He is best known for his chronicle of the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, which provides valuable insights into the daily life and events of the time.
In the 16th century, Joceline Percy, Countess of Northumberland, was a prominent figure in English history. Born in 1586, she played a significant role in the Northern Catholic resistance against the Protestant Reformation and was briefly imprisoned for her religious beliefs.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Joceline Weld-Forester was an English aristocrat and philanthropist. Born in 1825, she was known for her charitable work and her involvement in various social causes, particularly related to education and women's rights.
While the name Joceline has been used throughout history, it has remained relatively uncommon, particularly in recent times. Its unique origin and historical associations with notable figures make it a distinctive and intriguing name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Joceline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joceline as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Joceline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joceline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,545 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joceline going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 221,847 US residents.
Is Joceline a common name?
We classify Joceline as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,576 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joceline most popular?
The single biggest year for Joceline was 1996, when 117 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joceline is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Joceline in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,722 people with the name Joceline, or 0.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,420 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Joceline in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Joceline?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Joceline appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,716 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Joceline?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joceline is Hispanic at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and White (8.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Joceline most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Joceline in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.9% (1,290 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Joceline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Joceline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Joceline in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Joceline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Joceline in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Joceline can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Joceline?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Joceline, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.