How Many People Are Named Bruce?
An estimated 267,607 people in the United States have the first name Bruce. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #189 overall. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 64 years old, and Bruce peaked in popularity in 1956 with 14,693 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Bruce as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Bruce paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Bruce is overwhelmingly male, 1,395 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Bruce has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
267,607
About 1 in 1,281 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
64
years old
Peak Year
1956
14,693 births
Total Registered
387,708
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Bruce
Bruce is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 387,708 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Bruce as a male name
Ranked #537 in 2024
553 male births in 2024
Peak: 1956 (14,660 births)
Bruce as a female name
Ranked #13,736 in 1995
5 female births in 1995
Peak: 1964 (38 births)
Bruce: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Bruce span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 136,788 babies were registered. Bruce has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Bruce by Decade
How has Bruce tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 499 | 499 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 629 | 618 | 11 | |
| 1900s | 841 | 836 | 5 | |
| 1910s | 5,648 | 5,577 | 71 | |
| 1920s | 13,308 | 13,179 | 129 | |
| 1930s | 24,233 | 24,119 | 114 | |
| 1940s | 72,294 | 72,096 | 198 | |
| 1950s | 136,788 | 136,459 | 329 | |
| 1960s | 74,926 | 74,637 | 289 | |
| 1970s | 21,273 | 21,127 | 146 | |
| 1980s | 14,427 | 14,335 | 92 | |
| 1990s | 7,911 | 7,900 | 11 | |
| 2000s | 5,536 | 5,536 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 6,634 | 6,634 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 2,761 | 2,761 | 0 | |
Bruce by State
Birth registrations for Bruce span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada. On average, about 7,496 Bruces were registered per state.
Bruce + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Bruce as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Bruce
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Bruce: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bruce?
We estimate approximately 267,607 people named Bruce are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,281 Americans share this first name.
Is Bruce a common name?
Bruce is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 387,708 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Bruce most popular?
Bruce reached peak popularity in 1956, when 14,693 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Bruce is approximately 64 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Bruce a male name?
Bruce is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Bruce Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Bruce Smith, Bruce Johnson, Bruce Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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