Joyce

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ORIGIN AND HISTORY

Joyce is etymologically based in England and appears to be derived from the “Norman (French) male name Josce (Middle English Josse), which in turn is from Jodocus, a Latinized form of a Breton name, Iodoc, meaning ‘lord.’” Versions of Joyce were also used by Breton followers (people of Brittany, some Celtic) of William the Conqueror. Primarily a male name then, some evidence exists that it may have been used for women, and possibly as a variant of Joy.^[1]

POPULARITY

According to the Social Security Administration, Joyce has consistently been one of the top 1000 most popular names in the United States for at least the past 100 years. Recently, however, the name Joyce is at the lowest point in its popularity in that time. Joyce enjoyed its highest rankings during the 1920s through the mid 1960s when it consistently ranked in the top 100 names in the country. Its greatest point of popularity was the 1930s when it regularly made the top 15. Joyce first began its decline, ranking below 350 – a number it had not hit since 1908 and 1909 – in the early 1980s. It lost 100 spots during that decade and was at 479th by 1990 and 669th by 2000. In the seven years of information currently available for the 21st Century, Joyce dropped to 837th by 2007. (Please see chart below.)

Social Security Administration

FACTS

• The James Joyce Center is "dedicated to promoting an understanding of the life and works of James Joyce." It is located at 35 North Great George's Street in Dublin, Ireland.
• Ronald V. Joyce Stadium at McMaster University is a new stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As of this posting, it is still undergoing construction. When completed, the stadium will house and host the McMaster Marauders football team.^[1]

NAMESAKES

• Burton Joyce is the name of a village on the River Trent in Nottinghamshire, England. ^[1]
• Mount Joyce is a 1,830 meter high mountain eight miles northwest of Mount Howard within the Prince Albert Mountains, Victoria Land.^[1]

FAMOUS PERSONS

• James Joyce (surname) (1882 - 1941), was an Irish writer best known for his works: Ulysses in 1922, Finnegans Wake in 1939, a short story collection called Dubliners in 1914 and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 1916.^[1]
• Joyce DeWitt (b. 1949) is an American television actress and comedienne who played Janet Wood on the situation comedy Three's Company during the 1970s.

Author: Mike Szimanski

NOTES