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Joyce Family History

Joyce Name Meaning

English: principally from the Middle English and Old French personal name Joce Josse Joice a Romance form of Old Breton Iuthoc a pet form of a name in Iuth- ‘lord’ with the hypocoristic suffix -oc. Joce became popular as a personal name especially in medieval Picardy Artois Normandy and Flanders through the cult of Saint Josse. According to legend he was the brother or son of the 7th-century Breton king Judhael (see Jewell ) and gave up his inheritance to become a hermit in the place recorded in the 8th century as Sanctus Jodocus now Saint-Josse-sur-Mer near Étaples in Pas-de-Calais. The cult was promoted in the second half of the 8th century by the Frankish king Charlemagne and was brought to England (Winchester) in the early 10th century by refugees from Saint-Josse the centre of the cult but use of the personal name in England is not known until after the Norman Conquest. Middle English Joce also was sometimes used as a female name (as Joyce is in modern times) and this may have also given rise to a surname. English: sometimes a variant of Goss from the ancient Germanic personal name Gozzo Gauz which often became Joce Joice Joss(e) in Old French. It was frequently used as a short form of Goscelin or Joscelin (see Joslin ). English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Jort in Calvados France. It is not certain that this surname has survived into the modern period. Irish: of Norman origin from Joce or Joice (see 1 above) Gaelicized as Seóigh or Seóigheach in Ireland where it has been established since the 12th century. The distribution of this name is concentrated in counties Galway and Mayo and gave rise to the eponymous district of Joyce Country (Dúiche Sheoigheach) located along the border between those two counties. Joy is another Anglicized form of this name usually confined to County Kerry Ireland. English (of French Huguenot origin): from French Josse identical in origin with 1 above.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Boyce, Royce, Noyce, Voyce, Ponce, Coyne, Toye, Boye, Jayne, Jobe

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Where is the Joyce family from?

You can see how Joyce families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Joyce family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Joyce families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1911 there were 488 Joyce families living in Ontario. This was about 52% of all the recorded Joyce's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Joyce families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Joyce surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Joyce ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Clerk were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Joyce. 25% of Joyce men worked as a Farmer and 15% of Joyce women worked as a Clerk. Some less common occupations for Americans named Joyce were Carpenter and Student. .

View Census Data for Joyce | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    25%
  • Labourer
    14%
  • Laborer
    8%
  • Carpenter
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Clerk
    15%
  • Housekeeper
    13%
  • Stenographer
    9%
  • Student
    9%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Joyce family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 366,000 census records available for the last name Joyce. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Joyce census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 58,000 immigration records available for the last name Joyce. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 51,000 military records available for the last name Joyce. For the veterans among your Joyce ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Joyce lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Joyce life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Joyce in 1940 was 38, and 76 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Joyce

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