Names That Mean Playful

Seen from our vantage point, Pocahontas is a name that will please no one. It's sure to invite playground mockery, and parents without Algonquin ancestry will be engaging in cultural appropriation. In certain circles, the 1995 Disney movie still stirs up bad blood. The name doesn't even present any obvious nickname possibilities to hide behind. Pocahontas was a very real, and very consequential, historical figure. Though it's worth noting that historians believe Pocahontas was really a sort of nickname rather than her proper name. Read more about Pocahontas and other <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/disney-princess-names">Disney Princess Names</a> in our featured blog.

Pocahontas

Bright and jubilant but sophisticated too, Jocosa is a Medieval variant of the mid-century favorite Joyce. While Joyce started out as Latinization of a Breton name meaning "lord", it has since come to be associated with the word "rejoice", and similarly, Jocosa has been linked to jocosus, meaning "merry, playful, joking".
 
As rare as Jocosa may be, it offers familiar nicknames like Jo, Josie, Coco, and Cosy, while also feeling similar to Jocasta, just without Oedipus associations.

Names That Mean Playful

The names

Pocahontas

Jocosa