Bruce

Last seen for girls in 1995 at #13,386 · #536 for boys in 2025, 558 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1952 · 14,480 births
Debut · boys
47 births
In top 100 · boys
39 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
386,880
since 1880

Bruce over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201948peak #25, 1952boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025—#536558
2024—#536555
2023—#542547
2022—#563526
2021—#535549
2020—#498587
2019—#471624
2018—#473614
2017—#429722
2016—#440702
2015—#404766
2014—#401773
2013—#417710
2012—#422668
2011—#469574
2010—#533485
2009—#466586
2008—#478581
2007—#439636
2006—#481550
2005—#504490
2004—#474532
2003—#486509
2002—#467510
2001—#424579
2000—#432563
1999—#407589
1998—#383652
1997—#383631
1996—#364663
1995#13,3865#362665
1994—#331747
1993—#321822
1992—#291922
1991#11,5096#2611,039
1990—#2391,170
1989—#2221,212
1988#10,3866#2051,286
1987#7,9878#1991,304
1986#7,7498#1891,348
1985#4,63516#1831,412
1984#6,29110#1751,460
1983#5,82411#1781,439
1982#6,8889#1691,588
1981#8,1287#1641,634
1980#4,32717#1571,650
1979#5,42712#1521,712
1978#4,93113#1511,701
1977#4,94213#1481,700
1976#3,81217#1481,689
1975#5,9849#1401,789
1974#4,22714#1361,854
1973#3,97115#1341,914
1972#3,89415#1212,313
1971#3,06222#1082,973
1970#3,71216#943,482
1969#3,19918#724,041
1968#2,29628#614,486
1967#2,86819#555,067
1966#2,05832#535,843
1965#2,29327#506,325
1964#1,91838#467,890
1963#2,06133#439,275
1962#2,11331#4110,038
1961#2,15030#4010,705
1960#1,98233#3910,972
1959#1,82037#3811,914
1958#1,82036#3612,472
1957#1,95731#3413,882
1956#1,87133#3314,660
1955#1,83933#3214,082
1954#1,73935#3014,155
1953#1,78331#2814,048
1952#1,78131#2514,480
1951#1,61135#2614,090
1950#1,83527#2612,674
1949#1,62733#2612,265
1948#1,90125#2811,065
1947#1,94625#2910,524
1946#2,22818#328,459
1945#2,33914#485,615
1944#2,09617#515,262
1943#1,94920#515,431
1942#2,11717#505,385
1941#2,39713#514,302
1940#2,02916#553,789
1939#3,4297#643,233
1938#2,02116#663,127
1937#2,19614#702,810
1936#2,8579#732,630
1935#3,1568#772,447
1934#2,28913#782,401
1933#2,54011#912,037
1932#2,49012#981,935
1931#2,9729#1011,787
1930#2,20215#1091,712
1929#2,58712#1121,618
1928#1,89720#1121,628
1927#2,55213#1231,459
1926#3,04610#1271,413
1925#4,0287#1301,354
1924#2,97311#1331,311
1923#2,58713#1351,224
1922#2,95811#1421,106
1921#2,63313#1461,070
1920#2,01519#149996
1919#2,64012#151880
1918#2,67412#146988
1917#4,0836#156805
1916#2,02816#162740
1915#3,4347#171663
1914#2,8767#169530
1913#2,8276#175390
1912—#178328
1911#2,4635#197155
1910—#23998
1909—#185121
1908#2,1015#20499
1907—#21389
1906—#22477
1905—#20585
1904—#19887
1903—#22067
1902—#23460
1901—#21165
1900—#21086
1899—#20066
1898—#21964
1897—#22258
1896#1,4166#21669
1895#1,5925#21365
1894—#21163
1893—#21264
1892—#22660
1891—#22750
1890—#21659
1889—#20562
1888—#26245
1887—#24144
1886—#22855
1885—#21356
1884—#26940
1883—#21550
1882—#19366
1881—#27034
1880—#24147
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Bruce was already there! It came in at #241, and was given to 47 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1880–1881, when fewer than 48 boys a year got the name.

Where Bruce is popular in 1948

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #30 for boys · 10 births · 1 in 116 boysAKMaine: #19 for boys · 136 births · 1 in 72 boysMEVermont: #18 for boys · 58 births · 1 in 68 boysVTNew Hampshire: #13 for boys · 97 births · 1 in 58 boysNHWashington: #24 for boys · 265 births · 1 in 100 boysWAIdaho: #28 for boys · 51 births · 1 in 132 boysIDMontana: #28 for boys · 53 births · 1 in 118 boysMTNorth Dakota: #22 for boys · 89 births · 1 in 82 boysNDMinnesota: #17 for boys · 501 births · 1 in 68 boysMNIllinois: #28 for boys · 670 births · 1 in 131 boysILWisconsin: #24 for boys · 359 births · 1 in 106 boysWIMichigan: #30 for boys · 582 births · 1 in 126 boysMINew York: #25 for boys · 1,417 births · 1 in 105 boysNYMassachusetts: #20 for boys · 554 births · 1 in 87 boysMARhode Island: #22 for boys · 84 births · 1 in 96 boysRIOregon: #25 for boys · 150 births · 1 in 108 boysORNevada: #21 for boys · 17 births · 1 in 78 boysNVWyoming: #22 for boys · 28 births · 1 in 101 boysWYSouth Dakota: #27 for boys · 57 births · 1 in 128 boysSDIowa: #27 for boys · 206 births · 1 in 140 boysIAIndiana: #31 for boys · 272 births · 1 in 160 boysINOhio: #29 for boys · 677 births · 1 in 132 boysOHPennsylvania: #31 for boys · 700 births · 1 in 157 boysPANew Jersey: #22 for boys · 519 births · 1 in 87 boysNJConnecticut: #21 for boys · 236 births · 1 in 82 boysCTCalifornia: #26 for boys · 924 births · 1 in 127 boysCAUtah: #20 for boys · 113 births · 1 in 83 boysUTColorado: #34 for boys · 92 births · 1 in 170 boysCONebraska: #28 for boys · 104 births · 1 in 137 boysNEMissouri: #41 for boys · 192 births · 1 in 213 boysMOKentucky: #60 for boys · 113 births · 1 in 319 boysKYWest Virginia: #86 for boys · 55 births · 1 in 452 boysWVVirginia: #58 for boys · 131 births · 1 in 281 boysVAMaryland: #28 for boys · 160 births · 1 in 150 boysMDDelaware: #19 for boys · 36 births · 1 in 86 boysDEArizona: #42 for boys · 49 births · 1 in 188 boysAZNew Mexico: #93 for boys · 25 births · 1 in 360 boysNMKansas: #34 for boys · 115 births · 1 in 167 boysKSArkansas: #94 for boys · 52 births · 1 in 440 boysARTennessee: #104 for boys · 65 births · 1 in 607 boysTNNorth Carolina: #72 for boys · 141 births · 1 in 365 boysNCSouth Carolina: #96 for boys · 57 births · 1 in 494 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #29 for boys · 82 births · 1 in 150 boysDCOklahoma: #76 for boys · 64 births · 1 in 365 boysOKLouisiana: #84 for boys · 94 births · 1 in 360 boysLAMississippi: #120 for boys · 41 births · 1 in 692 boysMSAlabama: #95 for boys · 80 births · 1 in 486 boysALGeorgia: #100 for boys · 87 births · 1 in 502 boysGAHawaii: #38 for boys · 41 births · 1 in 147 boysHITexas: #92 for boys · 225 births · 1 in 435 boysTXFlorida: #42 for boys · 139 births · 1 in 204 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. New Hampshire#13 · 1 in 58
  2. Minnesota#17 · 1 in 68
  3. Vermont#18 · 1 in 68
  4. Maine#19 · 1 in 72
  5. Delaware#19 · 1 in 86

Best ever in a state: #12 in New Hampshire, 1947.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
New Hampshire#13971 in 58
Minnesota#175011 in 68
Vermont#18581 in 68
Delaware#19361 in 86
Maine#191361 in 72
Massachusetts#205541 in 87
Utah#201131 in 83
Connecticut#212361 in 82
Nevada#21171 in 78
New Jersey#225191 in 87
North Dakota#22891 in 82
Rhode Island#22841 in 96
Wyoming#22281 in 101
Washington#242651 in 100
Wisconsin#243591 in 106
New York#251,4171 in 105
Oregon#251501 in 108
California#269241 in 127
Iowa#272061 in 140
South Dakota#27571 in 128
Idaho#28511 in 132
Illinois#286701 in 131
Maryland#281601 in 150
Montana#28531 in 118
Nebraska#281041 in 137
District of Columbia#29821 in 150
Ohio#296771 in 132
Alaska#30101 in 116
Michigan#305821 in 126
Indiana#312721 in 160
Pennsylvania#317001 in 157
Colorado#34921 in 170
Kansas#341151 in 167
Hawaii#38411 in 147
Missouri#411921 in 213
Arizona#42491 in 188
Florida#421391 in 204
Virginia#581311 in 281
Kentucky#601131 in 319
North Carolina#721411 in 365
Oklahoma#76641 in 365
Louisiana#84941 in 360
West Virginia#86551 in 452
Texas#922251 in 435
New Mexico#93251 in 360
Arkansas#94521 in 440
Alabama#95801 in 486
South Carolina#96571 in 494
Georgia#100871 in 502
Tennessee#104651 in 607
Mississippi#120411 in 692

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Bruce
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • Held #536 since 2024
  • 38 spots since 2020 (#498 → #536)
  • 132 spots since 2015 (#404 → #536)
  • Biggest jump: 77 spots in 1882 (#270 → #193)
  • Biggest drop: 67 spots in 2010 (#466 → #533)
Rise & fade · boys
72 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1952 at #25 (14,480 births)
  • Births halved by 1965, 13 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 100 for 39 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 39 yrs · run 1932–1970
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 134
  • Highest: 1 in 134 boys born in 1951 were named Bruce (0.75%)
  • Latest: 1 in 3,061 boys born in 2025 (0.03%)
  • Its best rank, #25 in 1952, was only 1 in 134 (0.74%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1950s
  • 35.3% of all boys named Bruce (136,457) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s499#193 (1882)#234
1890s618#200 (1899)#216
1900s836#185 (1909)#210
1910s5,577#146 (1918)#174
1920s13,179#112 (1928)#131
1930s24,119#64 (1939)#83
1940s72,097#26 (1949)#42
1950s136,457#25 (1952)#31
1960s74,642#39 (1960)#50
1970s21,127#94 (1970)#133
1980s14,333#157 (1980)#184
1990s7,900#239 (1990)#334
2000s5,536#424 (2001)#465
2010s6,638#401 (2014)#446
2020s3,322#498 (2020)#535

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Bruce in 1948

girls
#1,901
25 births · 1 in 67,916 girls
boys
#28
11,065 births · 1 in 159 boys

Top girls' names in 1948

  1. #1Linda96,220
  2. #2Mary68,597
  3. #3Barbara46,826
  4. #4Patricia46,140
  5. #5Susan35,988
  6. #6Sandra31,063
  7. #7Nancy29,411
  8. #8Carol28,977
  9. #9Sharon26,143
  10. #10Kathleen23,257
  11. #1,901Bruce25

Top boys' names in 1948

  1. #1James88,605
  2. #2Robert85,478
  3. #3John82,834
  4. #4William61,972
  5. #5David56,627
  6. #6Michael52,566
  7. #7Richard50,970
  8. #8Thomas43,780
  9. #9Charles38,676
  10. #10Ronald33,527
  11. #28Bruce11,065
More about 1948

girls

1,697,908 girls got a published name in 1948; 1 in 67,916 of them was named Bruce, which outranked 68.5% of the 6,040 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 25.5% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Bruce
  1. #1,858Suzzanne26
  2. #1,858Thomasena26
  3. #1,858Tomi26
  4. #1,901Bruce25
  5. #1,901Aimee25
  6. #1,901Allen25
  7. #1,901Barrie25
  8. #1,953Adria24
  9. #1,953Alfredia24
  10. #1,953Alyson24

Tied with 51 names at #1,901; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1947
Risers
  1. ↑ 555Shawn#1,510 → #955
  2. ↑ 549Regena#1,488 → #939
  3. ↑ 491Regenia#1,255 → #764
  4. ↑ 460Mickie#1,228 → #768
  5. ↑ 413Shirleen#1,377 → #964
Fallers
  1. ↓ 408Michaele#859 → #1,267
  2. ↓ 358Marge#969 → #1,327
  3. ↓ 334Ilona#875 → #1,209
  4. ↓ 282Trudi#875 → #1,157
  5. ↓ 248Marylyn#909 → #1,157

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,754,618 boys got a published name in 1948; 1 in 159 of them was named Bruce, which outranked 99.3% of the 4,199 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 33.9% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Bruce
  1. #25Frank12,698
  2. #26Terry12,136
  3. #27Raymond11,612
  4. #28Bruce11,065
  5. #29Mark10,267
  6. #30Gerald9,842
  7. #31Lawrence9,768
Biggest movers since 1947
Risers
  1. ↑ 514Arnulfo#1,316 → #802
  2. ↑ 422Lucio#1,394 → #972
  3. ↑ 377Isidro#1,190 → #813
  4. ↑ 363Shawn#923 → #560
  5. ↑ 331Aurelio#1,233 → #902
Fallers
  1. ↓ 400Marshal#1,000 → #1,400
  2. ↓ 390Robby#906 → #1,296
  3. ↓ 333Frances#923 → #1,256
  4. ↓ 324Deane#836 → #1,160
  5. ↓ 321Lenwood#975 → #1,296

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1948 →