Joyce f, formerly m
English: apparently from the Norman male name Josce (Middle English Josse), which in turn is from Jodocus, a Latinized form of a Breton name, Iodoc, meaning ‘lord’, borne by a 7th-century Breton saint. The name was in use among Breton followers of William the Conqueror. However, although this was fairly common as a male given name in the Middle Ages, it had virtually died out by the 14th century. There is some evidence of its use as a female name in the 17th and 18th centuries, perhaps as a variant of JOY (SEE Joy). It was strongly revived in the 19th century under the influence of popular fiction. It is borne by characters in Mrs Henry Wood's East Lynne (1861) and Edna Lyall's In the Golden Days (1885). Modern use may well have been influenced also by the common Irish surname derived from the medieval Norman male name. See also Joss (SEE Joss).
First names dictionary. 2012.