Joslin
A surname that began as a shortened or altered form of the personal name Jocelyn.
The #5,094 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 44,954 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Joslin is generally treated as a variant of Jocelyn, a medieval personal name brought into English from Old French. In this line of explanation, Joslin arose as a shortened or softened spelling of the given name rather than from a place or occupation. Older surname dictionaries also connect it with related forms such as Joselyn and Josselyn.
History
Early surname writers recorded many spellings of this name, including Joselyn, Josselyn, Josland, and Josling-like forms, showing that it was fluid in medieval and early modern record-keeping. The name appears in English documentary sources by the Middle Ages, and later stabilized in several regional spellings. In the United States it remains relatively uncommon but well established.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century surname dictionary explicitly glossed Joslin as a corruption of the personal name Jocelyne, reflecting how strongly medieval spelling variation shaped English surnames.
From the historical record
“JOSKYN. A dlmhiutive of Joseph. JOSLIN. JO SLING. JOSLAND. Corruptions of the personal name Joscelyne. JOURDAN. JOURD^UN. See Jor- dan. JOY. Probably from one of the several places in Normandy called Jouy ; or per- haps a contraction of Joyce. JOYCE. O. Fr. joijeux, cheerful, hilar-”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom