Explore the Family Name Jocelyn

The meaning of Jocelyn

1. English: variant of Joslin. 2. Haitian: either of English origin (see 1 above), or an altered form of French and Breton Josselin, a cognate of 1 above. Some characteristic forenames: French Antoine, Mireille, Jean Raymond, Marthe, Solange.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Jocelyn in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Jocelyn increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Jocelyn was ranked as the 40,265th most common surname in the United States, but by 2010, it had risen to the 34,427th position, marking a significant increase of 14.5%. The count of individuals with this surname also rose during this period, from 512 to 658, an increase of 28.52%. Consequently, the proportion of people named Jocelyn per 100,000 residents also increased from 0.19 to 0.22, or by 15.79%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#40,265	#34,427	14.5%
Count	512	658	28.52%
Proportion per 100k	0.19	0.22	15.79%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Jocelyn

Regarding ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census revealed some changes in the distribution among those with the Jocelyn surname from 2000 to 2010. The percentage identifying as White decreased from 46.88% to 40.58%, falling by 13.44%. Similarly, those reporting two or more races dropped significantly, from 5.08% to 1.82%, a decrease of 64.17%. On the other hand, the percentage identifying as Black grew notably from 39.26% to 48.78%, an increase of 24.25%. The Hispanic population saw a modest increase of 11.34%, rising from 7.23% to 8.05%. There were no recorded individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	39.26%	48.78%	24.25%
White	46.88%	40.58%	-13.44%
Hispanic	7.23%	8.05%	11.34%
Two or More Races	5.08%	1.82%	-64.17%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.76%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%