Name of the Week: Jocasta

 

Origin:

Jocasta is the latinised form of the ancient Greek name Iokaste (Ιοκαστη), famously borne in Greek mythology by the mother and unwitting wife of Oedipus, also known as Epikaste according to Homer.  Her story is a tragic one. She first married King Laius of Thebes, who (due to previous crimes) was cursed by the gods. The oracle of Delphi foretold that Laius' son would kill his father and marry his mother, and so when Jocasta gave birth to their son, Oedipus, the baby was quickly taken away to be exposed on the mountain.  The slave tasked with this job felt pity for the infant and gave him to a shepherd of Corinth, who in turn gave him to the childless king and queen of Corinth.  Oedipus grew up as a prince of Corinth, oblivious to his true parentage. When he too visited the Delphic Oracle, he was warned not to return home otherwise he would kill his father and marry his mother. Fearing for the safety of his adoptive parents, Oedipus sets off for Thebes instead whereupon he encounters his real father, Laius. The two get into a heated argument, ending in Oedipus killing his (unknown) father. On arriving in Thebes, Oedipus solved the riddle of a sphinx terrorising the city, thereby freeing the people. The grateful citizens elect Oedipus as their new king and, as was tradition, he married Laius' widow, Jocasta. Neither of them realised they were mother and son until the truth was revealed decades later. Poor Jocasta, unable to bear the shame, took her own life, while Oedipus blinded himself.  The etymology of Jocasta is very uncertain. As with many figures of Greek mythology, its true origin may in fact be pre-Greek. It has often been confused with the Latin iocosus "merry," but this is certainly not the source.  The most plausible source is the Greek iôkê (ἰωκή) "pursuit, rout, onslaught." There was even a Greek goddess named Ioke -- the personification of attack in battle. Another theory is that it derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *yek "to speak."  Since the Middle Ages, Jocasta has been conflated with, and used as a latinised form for, the unrelated name Joyce. The name derives originally from the Breton Jodoc, composed of the elements iud "lord" and the diminutive suffix -oc. It became Josse in Old French and latinised as Joceus and its feminine counterpart Jocea. Both became Joyce in vernacular English and was perhaps associated with the archaic English verb joice "to rejoice." This would explain the popular latinised variant Jocosa, which is clearly adapted from the Latin iocosus "merry," and how Jocasta became used as a suitable cognate form.

Usage:

Examples of Jocasta in use as a given name in Britain date from at least the 15th century. In many of these early examples, however, it is clear that Jocasta was used as a latinised form and that Joyce was the everyday vernacular form used. One famous example is Joyce Culpeper (1480–1528), the mother of Catherine Howard -- the fifth of Henry VIII's six wives -- who is recorded in latin records as Jocasta.  Another famous Joyce who is also referred to as Jocasta is Joyce Lewis (d. 1557), a protestant who was martyred under the reign of Mary I. Jocasta itself seems to have come into use independently from the 17th century onwards, though some of this may still be attributed to Joyce.  On the whole, the name has always been rare. In fact, it was not officially registered in the England and Wales Birth Index at all from its start in 1837 up until the late 1950s. The first official registration came in 1959 in Hertfordshire. British author Jocasta Innes was born previously in 1934, but her birthplace was China so she doesn't appear in this data.  Birth registrations in England and Wales: 1940s: 0 births 1950s: 1 birth 1960s: 7 births 1970s: 28 births 1980s: 18 births 1990s: 19 births Since 1996, Jocasta has only ranked in the official data (3 or more births) for England and Wales five times: #3247 (4 births) in 2000; #2540 (6 births) in 2002; #2191 (8 births) in 2003; #4598 (3 births) in 2004 and #5201 (3 births) in 2007.  In Scotland, Jocasta has only been registered for a total of four girls between 1974 and 2015: once in 1974, 1990, 1995 and 2002.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Joyce/Jocasta Culpeper (1480–1528) , the mother of Catherine Howard, fifth queen consort of Henry VIII. * Joyce/Jocasta Lewis (d. 1557), an English Protestant martyr. Contemporary: * Jocasta Innes (1934–2013), British writer, journalist and businesswoman Literature and Other Media: * Jocasta, a Marvel Comics superhero and member of the Avengers. * Jocasta Ayrs, a character from the novel Cloud Atlas. * Jocasta Nu, a jedi knight in the Star Wars universe. * Jocasta, a character in HBO's series Rome. Other: * 899 Jokaste, a minor planet orbiting the Sun. * Iocaste, a moon of Jupiter.

Variants:

Jocaste, Iokaste, Iocaste, Jokasta

Pronunciation:

jō-KAS-tə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Asta, Cassie, Jo, Joey, Josie, Joss, Joy

Sibling Names:

Perdita     Lucretia     Sybilla     Cosima     Atalanta     Bellatrix  Aenaes     Linus     Hector     Orion     Lucius      Orlando

Name Lists:

Demi-Gods and Mortals from Mythology

  

If you like Jocasta you may also like:   Jocosa, Callisto, Antigone, Electra, Cassiopeia, Pandora, Juniper, Megara, Ariadne, Dido

 

 Thanks to Lydia for requesting this name.