Joss

Where Joss comes from

Verb usage evolved from the name of Joss Whedon, creator of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly.
— Wiktionary's entry for Joss
Along the way
  1. 1977
    First appearance
    #5,845 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 2017
    Mostly boys from here
    Until now more girls than boys got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  3. 2020
    Peak, #3,811
    27 babies named Joss — more than any year before or since.
  4. 2024
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #6,469.
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name
  • A diminutive of the female given name Jocelyn.
  • A diminutive of the male given name Joseph.
Namesakes

We look up famous namesakes for names that have made the top 1,000. Joss hasn't yet.

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.