Josselyn
A feminine name of French origin meaning "smooth" or "flat".
Name Census estimates that about 3,256 living Americans carry the first name Josselyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Josselyn today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Josselyn births was 2007 (257 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Josselyn. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Josselyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.3K
~ 1 in 105,269 Americans
Peak year
2007
257 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,237
Tracked since 1974
Census
Josselyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,240 people with the first name Josselyn, which placed it at #5,334 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
#5,334
National first-name rank
People counted
3.2K
3,240 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
80.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Josselyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josselyn is Hispanic at 80.0%. The next largest groups are White (15.2%) and Black (2.1%). 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 Josselyn 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 Josselyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino80.0% · 2,592
- White15.2% · 491
- Black or African American2.1% · 69
- Two or more races1.7% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 10
Popularity
Josselyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Josselyn from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,303 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
Josselyn 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 Josselyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Josselyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Josselyn, while Pennsylvania, Nevada, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 90 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Josselyn
The name Josselyn has its origins in the French language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to be a variant of the Old French name Joscelin, which itself is derived from the Germanic name Gauscelinus or Goscelinus, formed from the elements "gaus" meaning "spear" and "lind" meaning "serpent".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Josselyn can be found in the 12th century, when it was borne by Josselin de Courtenay, a French nobleman and one of the leaders of the Third Crusade. Another notable bearer of the name was Josselin de Vierzy, a French trouvère and poet from the 13th century.
In England, the name gained popularity during the Middle Ages and was sometimes anglicized as Jocelyn or Joselyn. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name in England was Josselyn de Brakenburg, a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Josselyn. One of the most famous was Josselyn Percy (1305-1352), an English nobleman and military commander who played a prominent role in the Wars of Scottish Independence. Another notable bearer of the name was Josselyn Leventhorpe (c. 1470-1509), an English courtier and member of the Privy Council during the reign of Henry VII.
In the 17th century, the name Josselyn was borne by Josselyn Twisleton (c. 1615-1677), an English politician and member of Parliament during the English Civil War. Another notable bearer of the name from this period was Josselyn Bodley (c. 1630-1674), an English diplomat and traveler who wrote extensively about his travels in the Middle East.
The name Josselyn also has a rich literary history, with several authors and poets bearing the name. One of the most notable was Josselyn Fenton (1628-1690), an English poet and playwright who was a member of the Twickenham circle of poets. Another literary figure with the name was Josselyn Phillipps (1798-1879), an English novelist and travel writer.
While the name Josselyn has its roots in French and Germanic origins, it has been adopted and borne by individuals from various cultures and backgrounds throughout history, making it a truly global name with a rich and diverse heritage.
People
Josselyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Josselyn 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
Josselyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Josselyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Josselyn 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 105,269 US residents.
Is Josselyn a common name?
We classify Josselyn as "Rare". It ranks above 95.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,306 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Josselyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Josselyn was 2007, when 257 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Josselyn is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Josselyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,240 people with the name Josselyn, or 1.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,334 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 Josselyn 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 Josselyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Josselyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,231 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Josselyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Josselyn is Hispanic at 80.0%. The next largest groups are White (15.2%) and Black (2.1%). 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 Josselyn most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Josselyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (2,592 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 Josselyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Josselyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Josselyn 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 Josselyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Josselyn 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 Josselyn 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 many people have Josselyn as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Josselyn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.