ninan.org

Bruce

Boys' name · Mid-century

Living in the US
~257,300 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#536 among boys
Births in 2025
558 388,275 since 1880
Typical age
67 years, median

Bruce popularity over time

Bruce rank by birth year, 1880–2025Bruce ranked #241 in 1880 and #536 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #25, in 1952.#100#536best #25 in 195218901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Bruce in 1956 than in any other year — 14,693 of them. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. It has held a top-100 place in 39 separate years.

The 2025 position is #536, on 558 births. The ten-year change is -27%.

Babies named Bruce per yearPeaks at 14,693 births in 1956.14,693 in 1956018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Bruce?

About 257,300 people named Bruce are alive in the United States today. That is out of 388,275 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Bruce?

Half of living Bruces are older than 67, half younger. More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Bruce a mid-century name.

Your Bruce

Ages of living people named BruceHalf of living Bruces are older than 67 and half younger.median 67020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Bruce is most common

Bruce is 2.5× as common in Alaska as it is nationally. Idaho, Utah and Nevada follow.

Where Bruce is used more than average5 states use the name Bruce more than the national average.Alaska: 2.5× the national rateAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: 1.6× the national rateWAIdaho: 2.2× the national rateIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: 1.7× the national rateNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: 1.8× the national rateUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Bruce is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Alaska 20 2.5×
Idaho 56 2.2×
Utah 113 1.8×
Nevada 65 1.7×
Washington 182 1.6×

Bruce in England and Wales

ONS recorded 37 births named Bruce in 2025, ranking it #856. That is 29% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Bruce comes from

From a Norman place name, Brix, of disputed meaning.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Bruce

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Bruce Lee Hong Kong–American martial artist and actor 1940–1973 164
Bruce Willis American actor 1955 117
Bruce Springsteen American rock singer 1949 107
Bruce Dickinson English heavy metal singer 1958 70
Bruce Beutler American immunologist and geneticist 1957 57
Bruce Campbell American actor 1958 53
Bruce Dern American actor 1936 51
Bruce McLaren New Zealand racecar driver, designer and team owner 1937–1970 42
Photo credits (6)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 5,629 in 1945 to 8,477 in 1946 — 1.5 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/bruce.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).