Rance
A masculine French name derived from an Old German term meaning "brave".
Name Census estimates that about 2,357 living Americans carry the first name Rance. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rance today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rance births was 1962 (57 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rance. 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.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 145,420 Americans
Peak year
1962
57 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,153
Tracked since 1882
Census
Rance in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,065 people with the first name Rance, which placed it at #7,405 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
#7,405
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,065 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rance
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rance is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Rance 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 Rance at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.8% · 1,462
- Black or African American16.2% · 335
- Two or more races5.0% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 67
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 47
Popularity
Rance: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rance from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 461 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rance 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 Rance during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rances live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Texas, California, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Rance, while Louisiana, Alabama, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rance
The given name Rance has its origins in the French language, with roots dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "ranc," which means "rancid" or "stale." This unusual etymology suggests that the name may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname or surname before becoming a given name in its own right.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rance can be found in the 13th century, when a Norman knight named Rance de Villers was mentioned in historical records from the time of the Crusades. The name also appears in various medieval French texts and chronicles, though its usage remained relatively uncommon during this period.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Rance Bourgoing (1536-1599) gained prominence as a French diplomat and writer. He served as the ambassador to various European courts and authored several works on diplomacy and international relations.
Another historically significant individual with the name Rance was Rance de Givry (1610-1684), a French nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the Wars of Religion in France during the 17th century.
In the realm of literature, the name Rance is associated with the character of Monsieur de Rance, a prominent figure in the French novel "La Chartreuse de Parme" by Stendhal, published in 1839.
Moving into the 20th century, Rance Howard (1928-2017) was an American actor and writer who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career. He was also the father of acclaimed actor and director Ron Howard.
While the name Rance has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been borne by a diverse range of individuals, from medieval knights and diplomats to modern-day actors and writers. Despite its unusual etymology, the name has endured as a unique and distinctive moniker, carrying with it a rich tapestry of cultural and historical significance.
People
Rance + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rance as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rance: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rance?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,357 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rance 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 145,420 US residents.
Is Rance a common name?
We classify Rance as "Rare". It ranks above 94.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,992 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rance most popular?
The single biggest year for Rance was 1962, when 57 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rance is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rance in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,065 people with the name Rance, or 0.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,405 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 Rance 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 Rance?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rance appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,062 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Rance?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rance is White at 70.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Rance most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rance in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.8% (1,462 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 Rance in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rance a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rance 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 Rance still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rance 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 Rance 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 called Rance?
You can see how many people share the name Rance on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.