A given name, traditionally used for both males and females, though more common for girls in modern English-speaking countries.
From Old German 'Gauzelin,' derived from 'gaut' (Goth) and a diminutive suffix. The name traveled through Norman France and into England after 1066, appearing in medieval records and eventually becoming a modern given name.
Jocelyn has a fascinating gender journey—it was purely masculine in medieval times, gradually became feminine in the 20th century, and now in the U.S. it's strongly gendered female, showing how naming conventions shift across generations without anyone planning it.
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