2000
#4,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,803
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.52
Rare Last name
Joslin
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "Jocelyn's land."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,347 Americans carry the last name Joslin. That puts it at #5,259 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 46,652 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Joslin surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Joslin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.3K
1 in 46,652
Census rank
#5,259
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,407 bearers of the surname Joslin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5259th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Joslin, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Joslin
The surname JOSLIN has its origins in England, first emerging in the late 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French personal name "Joscelin" or "Goscelin," which itself comes from the Germanic elements "gos" meaning "goose" and "lind" meaning "tender" or "soft."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Curia Regis Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1199, where a Robert Joscelin is mentioned. The Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1230 also reference a William Joscelin. These early records suggest the name was concentrated in the eastern regions of England during the Middle Ages.
The JOSLIN surname has also been linked to various place names in England, such as Joslin's Grove in Oxfordshire and Joslin's Farm in Warwickshire. These locations likely took their names from early bearers of the surname, indicating their presence in those areas.
Notably, the JOSLIN name appears in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants in England after the Norman Conquest. This inclusion underscores the surname's long history in the country.
Among notable individuals with the JOSLIN surname throughout history are:
1. John Joslin (c. 1615-1675), an early settler in New England who arrived in Boston in 1635 and later helped establish the town of Scituate, Massachusetts.
2. Benjamin Joslin (1692-1772), an American colonial soldier who fought in the French and Indian War and served as a captain in the Massachusetts militia.
3. Mary Joslin (1827-1914), an American educator and activist who co-founded the Hartford Female Seminary in Connecticut and advocated for women's rights and education.
4. Thomas Joslin (1836-1916), an English-born American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, one of the world's leading institutions for diabetes research and treatment.
5. Alice Joslin (1875-1966), an American painter and illustrator known for her portraiture and landscapes, particularly her works depicting scenes from New England.
While the JOSLIN surname has roots in England dating back to the 12th century, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through migration and the establishment of new settlements by early bearers of the name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joslin
Among Census respondents with the surname Joslin, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Joslin bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Joslin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 5,644
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 316
- Two or more races3.8% · 244
- Black or African American1.3% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 56
Timeline
Historical Census data for Joslin
Joslin appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,094
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,868
+65 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 2.33
Rank movement Down 329 places
2020
#5,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,407
-461 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 2.14
Rank movement Down 165 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,765 | 6,803 | 2.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,094 | 6,868 | 2.33 | +65 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 329 places |
| 2020 | #5,259 | 6,407 | 2.14 | -461 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 165 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Joslin surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,094 | #5,259 | -3.2% |
| Count | 6,868 | 6,407 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.33 | 2.14 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Joslin bearers went from 6,868 to 6,407 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 165 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,094 to #5,259.
FAQ
Joslin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Joslin?
Name Census estimates that about 7,347 living Americans carry the surname Joslin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 46,652 residents.
How common is Joslin?
Joslin ranks #5,259 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,407 people with the surname Joslin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,347), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Joslin.
Has Joslin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Joslin went from 6,868 recorded bearers to 6,407. That is a decrease of 461 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,094 to #5,259.
What does the Census say about the background of Joslin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Joslin, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Joslin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (5,644 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Joslin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Hispanic (4.9%), Two or More Races (3.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Joslin (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Joslin mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "Jocelyn's land." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Joslin (2.14 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Joslin?
If you just want to know how common the surname Joslin is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.