Jocelyn

I like the name Jocelyn. Joss sounds very masculine because I automatically think of Josh, and Josie makes me think of the pussycats.

I love the name... I don't think people will pronounce it wrong and I think if you like it - its great! 2 or 3 syllables - it is a great name.

My friend named her daughter Isla and it is a beautiful name... A different friend of mine is named Ayla and they are pronounced the same. Just food for thought!

Personally I hate any name that people are likely to get wrong. My name is D., most often pronounced Day-na. My mother pronounces it Dan-na. She says that's the female pronunciation of this name. I don't care really, but I think it should be spelled the way it sounds. I've spent my life either correcting people or just letting them call me by the wrong name. Neither choice I liked. Lots of times I think people just don't call me by my name because they know they are likely to get it wrong.

I like the name, but the first thing that came to mind was - my niece that was just born last week was named that. It's a beautiful name. It's always hard to come up with a name that isn't too common and yet one that will fit the child. Even though it was just used in our family, I think that name is still rare enough to use.

I think it has that old-fashioned feel that I like, similar to some of your other choices. I like the nickname Joss, but not so much with Josie. (I think it makes sense to ask strangers. You don't have to listen to us and then get flack about it later if you don't.)

I love Jocelyn, I'm very partial to medieval sounding names, and this name reminds me of that.

i love jocelyn but that might be b/c it is the name of a baby just born on my favorite soap, general hospital ;) the NN thing, i would go with Joss just because it sounds the same, but i like Josie a lot better. sometimes i think i'd go with a name just for the nickname. if you were going to call her Josie exclusively, i'd almost go with like josephine or something. just a thought. i think it's useful to have strangers' opinions about a name - you want to make sure all the bases are covered, i like that. just like your example of Isla. a perfect reason to ask a broad range of people. everything doesn't have to be a deep personal "issue". i think it's fine that you're asking for opinions. it's a big decision! good luck finding one that feels perfect :)

I love it! But reading all your posts I really love Brinley too. Or Isla still. And I understand getting public opinions! Some people might notice something "off" that you don't. And remember how it sounds with your last name is important because they will be said together much more often than the first and middle name!

I like jocelyn better than Isla.
You can ask for advice any time you feel like it. I would, especially when it comes to baby names. I also do understand not wanting to ask family members. We didn't ask any family members about naming our kids, and even so, we were told repeatedly we should name, one of them, Brooke. We didn't.
:)
Back to names. is there a name you absolutely love? Just love love every time you hear it? Start there. Try to remember which names have you heard and had a good feeling about?
BTW, Jocelyn is very feminine and beautiful.

awesome name. We know a Joselyn and many call her Jossy, which I think is also cute. My advise is to keep spelling simple- especially with foreign or exotic names. Our daughter is Kira. My husband is from Ireland, so we thought a gaelic name would be nice but we knew that spelling it in the traditional gaelic spelling (Ciara) would never get pronounced right. No matter what you do some people will always mispronounce her name. My personal opinion: stay away from gender-opposite names, like calling a girl Johnny, etc... it takes a really secure kid to handle that. Good luck & have fun!

great choice - wither way YOU got to be happy with it and if you are considering it you must like it - we have a jocelyn and we call her Jojo, or jojo-bean. very cute.
:) good luck!
-C.

I LOVE the name Jocelyn. My husband always veto-ed it because he thought it sounded too much like the word "jostling" (like forcing your way by pushing.) I giggled each time he said that.

I am so happy all you ladies love this name since I just named my 3rd daughter Josselyn Joelle (and NO her nn is NOT Jojo). I used the double S so she could be called Joss for short (Joelle is a family name). One thing you might not know- Jocelyn is traditionally a boy's name, and Jocelyne is the girl equivalent. Josselyn is, of course, the feminine as well. Also, Isla was on my short list too!!! Have you considered Jaclyn/Jacklyn/Jacqueline? Or Rosalyn (could be Rosie)? My criteria for baby naming was that the name be either pronounceable or spell-able, and that there would not likely be another one in her class. Josselyn fits the bill perfectly! Good luck!! PS I don't mind at all weighing in on the discussion of a stranger's name debate- family can be sticky.

We have a Jocelyn. Although she uses her formal name, she is called "Jossi" by most. Obviously I am partial, but in my experience, I have liked the name because it is feminine but not overused. We infrequently run across others with this name. I like that. Good luck!

I LOVE it!
What's more important is that YOU love it!
I happen to LOVE Isla also and frankly, pronunciation is explainable and rectified quite easily.
I have named my four children, two unusual names and two "normal" names. None of them have a problem politely correcting the people who mispronounce their names. My "normal" named kids have two names, like Stephen James and John David. Those are their names. We do not call them Stephen and John, nor do they answer to shortened names.
It's all in how you handle the public. My girls Grayson and Skylar cut their names down every which way and answer to anything; but introduce themselves by their given names.
I asked them what they thought of "different" names and both girls said they like having names that were "their OWN".
Thanks, this was a fun conversation for our family.
Good luck!
Good luck!

I know a Jocelyn & love the name. Plus she's absolutely beautiful. I personally have a Josie, short for Josephine. If you go with Jocelyn I would use something other than Josie because people will say "joesie" use jossie or something like that. Good luck

Hi--

I like the name Jocelyn, but have always heard it pronounced Joss-a-linn. Perhaps if you want the pronunciation you describe, you could spell it the way it sounds. Ordinarily I'm not a fan of 'different' spellings (gets confusing and looks pretentious), but this is different, since 'standard' spelling could result in a pronunciation you don't want.

Congratulations on your new family member, and what a nice way to avoid family pressure!

Would that be pronounced Joss-sel-lyn? I'm not a fan of a short o sound for a girl name, but that's only me. Joss could sound a lot like Josh (short for Joshua) and that sounds like a boy name. Joy might be nice. If Isla has been put on the B list, how about Ella or Ellen or Helen? I have a friend whose daughter is Josephine (for Josephine Baker) but they all call her Josie.

In terms of wanting an opinion on what we think of Jocelyn, do you mean our opinion as in whether we like it? or if the pronunciation is going to be mistaken?
In this day and age, the name Jocelyn is pretty common/seen before..and no one should mistake the pronunciation. But it doesn't matter if we like it, so long as you do. Or maybe some other choices that's close Jaslene, Josaleen? Jaylene?

Maybe Jolie? It's French meaning Pretty and the actual/correct pronunciation is to emphasize the accent on the 'li' part. Not 'ly' like Julie.

I really like Jocelyn but I've always heard it with the e pronounced (Joss-uh-lyn). Josie is really cute, too!

It's a beautiful name. I have a good friend with that name and have always thought it was so pretty. What's your concern about the name?

I do like the name Jocelyn, although the two people that I know with that name pronounce it Jo-ce-lyn (three syllables). Would that drive you crazy if people said it like I would if I saw it printed? Cute nicknames too! :)

p.s. I never would have known to pronounce Isla "Eye-lah" I would have done it phonetically!

My cousin's name is Joslyn. I don't recall her ever having issues with the name growing up. I like the name b/c it is easy to pronounce as well as being unique. Good luck. Check this web-site out. People who have had that name growing up can post their opinions about it and what they were picked on most by having that name. Good site.
http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/advanced-search....

Joss is Chinese for "luck"
Josie and the Pussycats
Jossie is different

My 4 year old niece has this name - and it fits her perfectly! She is definitely a huge joy and such a positive little girl. We call her Jocie (Joh-see) and Joce (Jos) for short, and I think it's adorable.

The only thing is, people who don't know her well tend to call her "Josie" (Joe-Zee), like Josie and the Pussycat Dolls. And as much as I correct them, they still want to call her Josie! Not sure why?

Anyways, good luck and have fun with the name game :)

We named our daughter Jocelyn in 1979.She looked like a Baby Josie,. so she went by Josie most all of her life . (Pronounced JOECEE). I noticed Her new husband pronounced her name as JO"Z"EE. I wonder if that bothers her?Since we named her Jocelyn and always called her JoeCee.. it bothers us when he pronounces it incorrectly.

i like it b/c she can be Josie for short..u should go to babyzone . com they have a name board..u might have fun on there..

I love the name and almost used it for either of my daughters. I ended up not using it because it's not the easiest to spell. In my job, I have to introduce myself for a court record. You'd be surprised at how many people can't spell even really popular names. I tried to chose names that would be fairly easy to spell.

I ended up naming my youngest Meredith and using Merrie as her nickname, not thinking that it would cause any problems. At age 6, she's already resigned to people not spelling her nickname properly, even good friends. On the other hand, she already knows that there are three different ways to spell it: Merrie, Mary and Merry.

Sue

My niece's name is Joselyn. I love the name, I think it is very feminine. But your daughter will have to get used to correcting people. She will be called both Joss - elyn and also Joes - elyn, depending on people's accents. It doesn't really bother my niece, though. ^_^

Well, Jocelyn is a lovely name. It is not a very traditional name, it was virtually unheard-of before MY time. I was born in 1960, and Jocelyn was just coming on the scene: it was the 600th favorite name of my contemporaries. By 1980 Jocelyn had gained significant popularity and was the 300th favorite by then. But the name took a steep rise during the 80's and 90's and peaked in 2007 as the 50th favorite name nationwide. It is still up in that range, maybe 60th or 70th. However, the name is more popular in California than any other state, so the incidence is higher here. Your Jocelyn would probably not be the only Jocelyn in her graduating class.

I hope this information is useful in making your decision. And I wish you and your yet-to-be-named daughter all the best.

I knew how to say it before you said how to phonetically but she'll always be asked how to spell her name.

love it. but 3 syllables. one of my best friends is Joc-e-lyn :)
so beautiful & strong name

Just going to be 100% honest here...coming from a high school teacher...

Jocelyn sounds like 'jostling'.

Had a student named Jocelyn. She was teased a lot, because people would say 'jostling my _____', especially guys who were into hip-hop/rap where they like to use that line/term.

I do not say this to be mean or cruel. I say this because this poor girl HATED that guys would walk around saying things like that to her.

I like the name, I like Josie, but I always felt bad for this kid.

I'm neither here nor there on Jocelyn. But i LOVE Josie.

My name is J. and strangers tend to pronounce it Jock-lyn, Jaklyn, or sometimes Joz-lyn, all of which really annoy me. My friends and family have always called m Joss or Jossy which I love. I have almost always received complements on my name, it's still pretty uncommon. I would suggest spelling it with an s, it will cut out the Jock pronounciation. Hopefully my answer was helpful!

S., I wonder why it's important to continue getting our opinion about your baby's name. We don't know your family, your community, or what your daughter is apt to be like, personality wise. I would think that you'd narrow your choices to a few, perhaps ask for ideas about those names but then make your own choice. You don't need anyone else's approval.

February 22: I apologize for my critical sounding post. After reading the other posts I realize I didn't understand your request. It is fun to share what a name sounds like to others, what nn might result from it, etc. I enjoyed reading all of these posts.

Gorgeous name. Both nicknames are great too!

I love Josie :) If I didn't have a boy named Joe, my daughter may have easily been some variation of Josie. I also love Josephine.

Jessica

Love it. We almost named our 22 month old girl that name to the point that my husband's whole family thought it was her name the night she was born but we had to tell them otherwise the next day. A good friend of ours ended up using the name when her daughter was born last year. They call her Joci.

I love Jocelyn! And Joss.....
O. other girl name idea: Piper

I agree that discussing names with family is enough to drive one to suicide. Friends are better...strangers, the best!

I like the name, spelled as is, I am a fan of traditional, established, but uncommon names, spelled the way others have spelled it (since there aren't that many others, you join a cool little club.)

My daughter is Tamsin, which is a female form of Thomas, and can also be spelled Tamasin among other ways. I really wanted to go with the extra A but my husband thought it would lead to misprononciation. As it is, people say "Tampsin" whereas saying Tamasin quickly you hear more of a "Tamzin" which is prettier. But it's neither here nor there, and this spelling was used by Thomas Hardy for the good girl in The Return of the Native. I recommend that you check cultural and literary references for the name to be sure that you either like them or can live with them. We named our other daughter Tatum just before Tatum O'Neill came out with her tell-all book. Oh well, one good girl, one heroine addict.