Pearce
A masculine name derived from the Old French word "perse" meaning "pierce".
Name Census estimates that about 1,162 living Americans carry the first name Pearce. It is a predominantly male name (96.6% of registrations). The average person named Pearce today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pearce births was 2010 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pearce. 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 Pearce with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 294,969 Americans
Peak year
2010
45 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,180
Tracked since 1912
Census
Pearce in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,100 people with the first name Pearce, which placed it at #11,591 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
#11,591
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,100 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pearce
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pearce is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). 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 Pearce 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 Pearce at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.3% · 861
- Black or African American7.6% · 84
- Two or more races6.8% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Pearce
Pearce leans heavily male at 96.6% of total registrations, but 43 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Pearce as a male name
- Ranked #5,180 in 2024
- 19 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (45 births)
Pearce as a female name
- Ranked #10,949 in 2023
- 9 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pearce leans strongly male. 1,021 people counted with this name were male (92.5%), compared with 83 female bearers (7.5%).
Popularity
Pearce: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pearce from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 346 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Pearce remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pearce 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 Pearce during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pearces live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Pearce, while North Carolina, Florida, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pearce
The name Pearce has its origins in the Old English language, with the earliest recorded use dating back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Middle English word "pers," which means "rock" or "crag." This name was likely given to individuals who lived near or worked with rocky landscapes.
During the Middle Ages, the name Pearce became popular in England and other parts of the British Isles. It was often used as a surname, but over time, it also gained prominence as a given name. The name's popularity may have been influenced by its association with strength and resilience, as rocks were seen as symbols of endurance.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Pearce was Pearce de Hauteville, a Norman knight who fought in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He was part of the Norman invasion force led by William the Conqueror and played a role in the conquest of England.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Pearce de Gaveston rose to prominence as a close friend and favorite of King Edward II. Their relationship was controversial and ultimately led to Gaveston's execution in 1312, which was a significant event during Edward II's reign.
During the Renaissance period, the name Pearce was associated with scholars and intellectuals. One such individual was Pearce Plowman, an English poet and author who lived in the late 14th century. His work, "The Vision of Piers Plowman," is considered a significant literary piece from that era.
In the 17th century, Pearce Roe was an English navigator and explorer who made several voyages to the Arctic regions. He is known for his detailed accounts of the icy landscapes and the challenges faced by early explorers in those harsh environments.
Another notable figure with the name Pearce was Sir Pearce Butler, an Irish military commander who fought in the Williamite War in Ireland during the late 17th century. He played a significant role in the Siege of Limerick and was later appointed as the Governor of Ireland.
Throughout history, the name Pearce has been associated with strength, resilience, and exploration, reflecting its origins as a name connected to rocky landscapes and the endurance required to navigate them. While it may not have appeared prominently in ancient texts or religious scriptures, the name has left its mark on various historical figures and events.
People
Pearce + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pearce 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
Pearce: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pearce?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pearce 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 294,969 US residents.
Is Pearce a common name?
We classify Pearce as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,268 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pearce most popular?
The single biggest year for Pearce was 2010, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pearce is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pearce in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,100 people with the name Pearce, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,591 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 Pearce 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 Pearce?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pearce leans strongly male. 1,021 people counted with this name were male (92.5%), compared with 83 female bearers (7.5%). 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 Pearce?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pearce is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). 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 Pearce most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pearce in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.3% (861 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 Pearce in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pearce a male name?
Yes, 96.6% of people registered as Pearce 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 Pearce still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pearce 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 Pearce 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 many people are named Pearce?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.