Joyce goes back to the Breton saint's name Judoc, brought to England by the Normans as Josse, and is usually explained as "lord"; later ears heard the word joy in it, which is why it is often glossed as "joyful". It was a boys' name in the Middle Ages and became one of the top 20 girls' names in America in the 1930s. Joyce ranked number 668 in 2000, held in the 800s and 900s through the 2010s and stands at number 1074 in 2025.