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Joss

#9,279 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Short form of Jocelyn

Joss has been given to 691 babies in the U.S. since 1977. In 2025 it ranked #9,279 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2020, with 27 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 63% boys, 37% girls all-time.

Babies named Joss, 2025

1 in 414,000

Joss over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010203018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Joss over time

In 2025, Joss went to 38% girls and 62% boys.

19772025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Joss: meaning, origin, and history

Short form of Jocelyn

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Joss means

Joss is a short form of Jocelyn.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Verb usage evolved from the name of Joss Whedon, creator of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Joss (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Joss is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Jocelyn and Joseph.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 436 boys were recorded with the name Joss between 1977 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 27 in 2020; its best national rank was #3,861 in 2020.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,861 in 2020 to #9,279 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #5,862 in 2015 to #9,279 in 2025.

In the United States, 255 girls were recorded with the name Joss between 2005 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 20 in 2006; its best national rank was #6,335 in 2015.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #8,644 in 2020 to #15,985 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #6,335 in 2015 to #15,985 in 2025.

How common is Joss?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 414,000
8 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 213,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#9,279
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
287,238 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Joss sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 287,238 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Joss. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Josss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Joss was born before 2012 — so the typical Joss is around 13 today.

Median birth year
2012
About 13 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
34.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
85.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
436
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 34.6% of all recorded uses (151).

Is Joss rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−2,651
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−5,418
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−3,417
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.53×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
29.6%
Peak was 2020 (27)
Years since peak
5
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
34.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#3,861
2020

Spellings of Joss

Joss is not the most common spelling — John is, with 66.4% against Joss's <0.01%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Joss is used

Across 1910–2025, Joss was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 1,023,205 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Joss has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Joss around the world

Where Joss ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #1,613
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1988–2013
    #687
    in 2013
  • Northern Ireland
    2001–2010
    #387
    in 2010
  • Ireland
    1990–1995
    #334
    in 1995
  • France
    1981–2024
    #3,744
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1979–2009
    #708
    in 2009

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.

Joss by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#9,279
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 5,418
Best rank ever
#3,861
2020
Peak year
2020
27 that year
First recorded
1977
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
436
Count in 2025
8

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#15,985
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 7,341
Best rank ever
#6,335
2015
Peak year
2006
20 that year
First recorded
2005
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
255
Count in 2025
5

Names similar to Joss

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

JosieDossBossMossJoseyJosyahJosianJoseanJosielJossueJosmarJoshaJostinJosethJosphJosaiJosaiahJosafatJoshueJossiahJosuelJosuaJoshuanHoss

Sibling names for Joss

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Joss

Top names of 2020, Joss's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2020Boys' names starting with J