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JOYCE/JOY SURNAME HISTORY by Paul McCotter These two are actually quite distinct surnames that have become completely mixed up with each other in Ireland. Joye was an Anglo-Norman Christian name of uncertain origin while Joce was a Christian name of two distinct origins, one French, the other Breton. Many Irish Joyces have Galway origins, being descendants of the Joyce clan who established themselves in Connemara during the thirteenth century and who later formed a sept along Gaelic lines there. Their territory was known as Joyces Country. Ironically these were originally Joyes and their territory earlier known as Joyes Country. The other region where Joyces are common today is County Cork. Here in the thirteenth century we find both Joyes and Joces, but the evidence points clearly to a Joce ancestry for the Joyces of east Cork. Other true Irish Joyces must be those of the Kilkenny/Wexford area, whose sixteenth century ancestors styled themselves Josse. In the thirteenth century there were Joyes in Dublin and these later spread to Meath, yet strangely today most Irish Joys are found in County Waterford. This Surname History is reproduced with the kind permission of Irish Roots Magazine in which it was first published as part of the feature article, Anglo-Norman Surnames of Ireland (part 4), in issue 1, 1998.
Published by: Belgrave Publications Year written: 1998 Copyright owned by: Belgrave Publications |