Joyce
JOYSS
A name linked in old English usage to joy and gladness, with a medieval history as a woman's name.
Meaning
In the excerpts, Joyce is connected with old English forms like Jocosa and with the idea of joy or gladness. Yonge also notes the Latin gaudium, meaning “joy,” as a closely related word. The books treat Joyce as a historically used feminine name, though its exact forms and contractions were sometimes confused with related names.
Origin
EnglishLatinfeminine
Fun fact
The excerpts say Joyce was once called Jocosa and that its short forms were tangled up with those of Justus.
Confidence: mixed. Sources: History of Christian Names, Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland.