Joyce
name ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An English and Irish surname originating as a patronymic. countable, uncountable
"The vote was 213-209 along party lines. Republican members of the House Ethics Committee – Michael Guest of Mississippi, Dave Joyce of Ohio, Andrew Garbarino of New York, John Rutherford of Florida and Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota – voted present. GOP Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado also voted present but he is not on the Ethics Committee."
- 2 A female given name from the Celtic languages, associated by folk etymology with joy and rejoice. countable, uncountable
""It's a curious name," remarked Captain Levison. "Joyce - Joyce! I never heard such a name. Is it a Christian name or a surname?" "She was baptised Joyce. It is not so very uncommon. Her name is Joyce Hallijohn. She has been with us several years.""
- 3 An unincorporated community in Clallam County, Washington, United States, named after founder Joseph M. Joyce. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"Are Bob Joyce and Elvis Presley the same person?"
Etymology
Medieval (Middle English) given name from Old French Josse, name of a seventh century saint Latinized as Iodocus, from Breton Iodoc, diminutive of iudh (“lord”), from Proto-Celtic *yowdos.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.