Joyce

Did you know?

A few things about Joyce you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Joyce

Joyce Carol Oates

American author (born 1938)

Choose Joyce and your child shares a first name with Joyce Carol Oates, an American author. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Joyce, like who?” Joyce Carol Oates's Wikipedia article is available in 61 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Joyce Carol Oates on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Per A.J. Andersson, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 7,112 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Joyce, 226 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Joyce would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryJoyce first shows up in US birth records in 1882, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 143 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1938, when it ranked #11. Today it's #1,071, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🍂TrendJoyce has slipped 95 places over the last five years and now sits at #1,071. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedJoyce is most popular in New Jersey, where it ranks #499, followed by Iowa (#565) and Kentucky (#570). It's in the top 1,000 in 9 states.

About the name Joyce

Joyce is a girl name of Celtic, English and Latin origin. It has 5 letters and 1 syllable, starting with J and ending in “-yce”. US birth records list Joyce for girls from 1882 to 2025, in 142 of those 144 years. Its best year was 1938, when it ranked #11 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #1,071, with 226 babies.

Origin:Celtic namesEnglish namesLatin names