Holding steady.
Popularity of Lajoyce since 1929
Babies named Lajoyce per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1948, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Lajoyce's real moment was 1973.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 6 |
| 1930s | 32 |
| 1940s | 36 |
| 1950s | 67 |
| 1960s | 62 |
| 1970s | 52 |
| 1980s | 42 |
| 1990s | 24 |
| 2000s | 0 |
| 2010s | 0 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Lajoyce is a rare American name that first appeared in U.S. birth records in 1929. Its most popular year was 1973, during the heyday of 'La-' prefixed names, but it has never ranked among the top 1,000 names. The name's trajectory has been stable in recent decades, with very few births per year. Like many names of its style, Lajoyce reflects creative naming patterns in African American communities, though its usage has remained concentrated in very small numbers. Its connection to the word 'joy' gives it an upbeat feel, and it offers a distinctive alternative to more common 'La-' names like Latoya or LaShonda.
Lajoyce appears to be a modern American coinage, likely formed by prefixing 'La-' (a fashionable prefix in African American naming traditions, possibly from French 'la' meaning 'the' or derived from names like Latasha) to the English name Joyce. Joyce itself derives from the medieval masculine name Josse, ultimately from Latin 'Iudocus' (a Breton saint), but came to be associated with the word 'joy'. Lajoyce is first recorded in 1929, peaked in usage in the 1970s, and has remained in occasional use since.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Joy, Jo, Lala
Variants: LaJoyce, La Joyce
Sibling names for Lajoyce
Names that share Lajoyce's style, for a brother or sister.
