Pace
A Latin name meaning peace or calmness.
Name Census estimates that about 919 living Americans carry the first name Pace. It is a predominantly male name (93.8% of registrations). The average person named Pace today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pace births was 2024 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pace. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Pace with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
919
~ 1 in 372,964 Americans
Peak year
2024
51 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,614
Tracked since 1917
Census
Pace in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 867 people with the first name Pace, which placed it at #13,799 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,799
National first-name rank
People counted
867
867 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pace
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pace is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.4%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Pace described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Pace at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.0% · 720
- Black or African American5.4% · 47
- Two or more races5.2% · 45
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Pace
Pace leans heavily male at 93.8% of total registrations, but 58 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Pace as a male name
- Ranked #2,614 in 2024
- 51 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (51 births)
Pace as a female name
- Ranked #11,924 in 2023
- 8 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2022 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pace leans strongly male. 757 people counted with this name were male (87.8%), compared with 105 female bearers (12.2%).
Popularity
Pace: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pace from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 371 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Pace remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pace by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Pace during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Paces live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Florida recorded the most babies named Pace, while Utah, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pace
The name Pace originated from the Latin word "pax," which means "peace." It has been used as a given name since ancient Roman times, symbolizing tranquility, serenity, and harmony. The name's roots can be traced back to the late antiquity period, around the 4th to 6th centuries CE.
In Italy, the name Pace has a long and rich history. It was commonly used during the medieval era and gained popularity in the Renaissance period. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name dates back to the 13th century, when a Franciscan friar named Pace da Faenza lived and worked in the Italian city of Faenza.
The name Pace has also been found in various religious and historical texts. In the Bible, the phrase "Pax Vobiscum" (Latin for "Peace be with you") is frequently used as a greeting and blessing. Additionally, the name appears in the writings of several ancient Roman philosophers and authors, including Cicero and Seneca.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Pace. One of the earliest was Pace da Ferrara (1425-1514), an Italian sculptor and architect who worked on numerous ecclesiastical buildings during the Renaissance. Another prominent individual was Pace da Certaldo (1325-1369), an Italian merchant and diplomat who served as an ambassador for the Republic of Florence.
In the 16th century, Pace Bianco (1510-1592) was a renowned Italian philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Padua. He was known for his works on logic and metaphysics, and his contributions to the development of humanistic thought.
Pace Latini (1634-1707) was an Italian painter and architect active during the Baroque period. He is particularly renowned for his fresco work in churches and palaces throughout Italy, including the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.
Another notable figure was Pace Pastorel (1865-1928), an Italian sculptor and medalist who created numerous public monuments and memorials in Italy and the United States. His works can be found in cities like Rome, New York, and Washington, D.C.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Pace. While its usage has varied over time and across different regions, the name has maintained its symbolism of peace and tranquility, reflecting the values and aspirations of those who bore it.
People
Pace + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pace as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pace: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pace?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 919 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pace going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 372,964 US residents.
Is Pace a common name?
We classify Pace as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 936 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pace most popular?
The single biggest year for Pace was 2024, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pace is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pace in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 867 people with the name Pace, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,799 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Pace in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Pace?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pace leans strongly male. 757 people counted with this name were male (87.8%), compared with 105 female bearers (12.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Pace?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pace is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.4%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Pace most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pace in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.0% (720 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Pace in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pace a male name?
Yes, 93.8% of people registered as Pace in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Pace still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pace in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Pace can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Pace?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Pace at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.