Joselin

Meaning & origin

Joselin is a modern spelling variant of Jocelyn that first appeared on U.S. birth records in 1967, a time when creative respellings of established names were gaining popularity. It reached its highest usage in 2007, when it ranked as the 5,554th most popular name, given to roughly 1 in every 73,058 newborn girls that year. Since then, its frequency has been falling steadily, reflecting a broader shift away from elaborations of Jocelyn. While Jocelyn itself entered the top 100 girls' names in the early 2000s, spellings like Joselin have remained relatively rare, never appearing on the national top 1,000 list. The name has not been strongly associated with any particular U.S. state, consistent with its modest overall usage.

Joselin is a phonetic variant of Jocelyn, itself from the Old French Joscelin, a diminutive of the Germanic name Gautselin, a diminutive of Gaudo, meaning 'Goth' or 'member of the Gauts' tribe. The name was introduced to England by the Normans and was originally masculine; it became predominantly feminine in the 20th century. This spelling variant emerged in the late 20th century as a distinct form.