This famous and interesting surname has two at least, possible and distinct origins, although both are French. Firstly it may be a patronymic deriving from the Breton personal name "Iodoc", a diminutive of "Juidcaelh", meaning 'lord', and introduced by the Normans into England at the Invasion of 1066. Although the 1086 Domesday Book is silent in regard to the name, both 'Josce' and 'Iocius' are recorded in the 1150 rolls of the city of Lincoln. Secondly the name may be of French locational origins from the village of Josse sur Mer, in Calvados, Normandy, and this latter may account for Sir John de Joce, recorded at the 1308 Dunstable Tournament.
In the modern idiom the surname has several spelling variants including Joice, Joisce, Joss, Josse, Joicey, Joysey, Joyce and Jowsey. The surname also became popular in Ireland, where it was first introduced in 1283 by a Welshman, Thomas de Jorse, who married the daughter of O'Brien the Prince of Thomond. Amongst the many famous namebearers were George Joyce (1620 - 1670), a parliamentarian officer who was sent by Oliver Cromwell, although subsequently denied, to seize the 'kings person' (Charles 1st in 1646) from Holmby House, in Northamptonshire. Subsequently Joyce was very active in promoting the King's trial and subsequent execution, and was rewarded with the Governorship of the Isle of Portland in 1650. He later fell out with both Cromwell and Charles 11, being exiled to Rotterdam. James Joyce (1882 - 1944), who wrote "Dubliners", and his better known work, "Ulysses", found world-wide fame. A Coat of Arms granted to a family has the blazon of a silver shield thereon a double headed eagle displayed gules, overall a fesse ermine. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey de Jorz, which was dated 1234, in the "Place Names Book of Northumberland", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
The origin, the coat of arms or the different heraldic shields, and the bibliography in which the surname joicey is mentioned are part of this exciting investigation. We can try to trace the genealogy of the surname joicey, and in addition to the original locations of joicey, we can find out where people with the surname joicey can currently be found.
The list of countries with a higher presence of people with the surname joicey provides us with a perspective on the history of the surname, beyond its origins, focusing on its migrations. The mobility of people carrying the surname joicey has led to its presence in different countries, as you can verify.
For those like you, who are interested in the history hidden behind the surname joicey, it is essential to find all kinds of information, both direct and tangential, that helps to construct a solid narrative of how the birth and expansion of joicey developed. The history, heraldry, coats of arms, and possible nobility of the surname joicey are scattered in documents across various regions and historical periods, so it is necessary to reconstruct a complex puzzle to approach the facts from a realistic perspective.
We keep our website updated through our own research and also thanks to contributions from people like you, after verification; so if you have information about joicey and send it to us, we will update it on this website. Please note that if you are in a position to provide more data about the surname joicey or any other surname and its origin, we would appreciate your collaboration with us by sending us information about the origin of joicey.
Sadly, not all the contributions of those who bore the surname joicey were recorded by the chroniclers of the time. A surname like joicey can connect a person to an illustrious lineage and a distinguished coat of arms. However, it must be kept in mind that it is individual people who, through their lives and actions, bring fame and recognition to their surnames. It is our desire to highlight in this section those individuals with the surname joicey who, for various reasons, have left their mark on the course of history.
The origin, history, coat of arms or different coats of arms, and the heraldry of joicey are recorded in a wide variety of sources and documents that are essential to know for better compilation. We consider it highly advisable to refer to the following sources if you wish to conduct research on the surname joicey, as well as many other surnames.
These sources are essential for initiating the understanding of joicey, and at the same time, of surnames in general.