US rank #537 Boys' name Peak 1956 386,313 births

Bruce — #537 US boys' name

386,313 babies named Bruce in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1956. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s4991890s6181900s8361910s55771920s131791930s241191940s720961950s1364591960s746371970s211271980s143351990s79002000s55362010s66342020s2761
#537
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 96% of names given to boys today.

1950s
Peak decade

35% of everyone ever named Bruce was born in this single decade.

1956
Single peak year

14,660 babies were named Bruce in 1956 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Bruce

The Social Security Administration has registered 386,313 babies named Bruce between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Bruce currently holds the #537 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1956, when 14,660 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Bruce performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 136,459 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Bruce shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 37,486 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Bruce in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Bruce in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 386,313 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Bruce at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

386,313

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1956

14,660 births that year

Strongest decade: 1950s

Current rank

#537

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Bruce popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1956)
14,660
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-5,00005,00010,00015,00020,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 47

Bruce popularity over time — girls

1,395 total births recorded since 1895 (Bruce as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 1,395 births
010203040 199519791968195719461935192419131895 5

Bruce by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1950s
Peak decade
1950s
136,459 births that decade — 35% of Bruce's all-time total
1880s4991890s6181900s8361910s55771920s131791930s241191940s720961950s1364591960s746371970s211271980s143351990s79002000s55362010s66342020s2761

Bruce by state

Where Bruce concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Bruce
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
37,486 9.7%
#2 California
30,706 7.9%
#3 Pennsylvania
24,461 6.3%
#4 Illinois
21,433 5.5%
#5 Ohio
21,098 5.5%
#6 Michigan
20,974 5.4%
#7 Minnesota
14,446 3.7%
#8 Massachusetts
14,159 3.7%
New York share of Bruce's total US births 9.7%
Even split

37,486 of 386,313 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Bruce appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Bruce?
386,313 babies have been named Bruce since 1880. It currently ranks #537 among boys. The peak year was 1956 with 14,660 births.
When was Bruce most popular?
Bruce was most popular in the 1950s decade with 136,459 total births. The single peak year was 1956.
Where is Bruce most popular?
The top states for the name Bruce are New York (37,486 births), California (30,706 births), Pennsylvania (24,461 births).
How long has the name Bruce been used?
Bruce has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Bruce?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Bruno, Bruin, Bruk, Brutus, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.