US rank #538 Boys' name Peak 2015 19,646 births

Pierce — #538 US boys' name

19,646 babies named Pierce in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2015. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s1331890s1271900s1331910s4131920s5601930s4091940s3731950s3061960s2341970s1791980s7791990s23982000s48982010s59312020s2773
#538
of 14,243 boys in use

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

2010s
Peak decade

30% of everyone ever named Pierce was born in this single decade.

2015
Single peak year

648 babies were named Pierce in 2015 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Pierce

The Social Security Administration has registered 19,646 babies named Pierce between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Pierce currently holds the #538 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2015, when 648 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Pierce performed strongest in the 2010s, accumulating 5,931 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Pierce shows notable generational variation in parental adoption. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 1,824 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Florida. In total, SSA state-level files list Pierce in 46 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Pierce 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 19,646 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.

Pierce at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

19,646

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

2015

648 births that year

Strongest decade: 2010s

Current rank

#538

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Pierce popularity over time — boys

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

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (2015)
648
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-2000200400600800 202420051986196719481929191018911880 16

Pierce popularity over time — girls

369 total births recorded since 1996 (Pierce as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 369 births
010203040 2024202020162012200720031996 7

Pierce by decade

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

Peak: 2010s
Peak decade
2010s
5,931 births that decade — 30% of Pierce's all-time total
1880s1331890s1271900s1331910s4131920s5601930s4091940s3731950s3061960s2341970s1791980s7791990s23982000s48982010s59312020s2773

Pierce by state

Where Pierce concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Pierce
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
1,824 9.3%
#2 California
1,619 8.2%
#3 Florida
897 4.6%
#4 Georgia
874 4.4%
#5 New York
846 4.3%
#6 Pennsylvania
722 3.7%
#7 Illinois
623 3.2%
#8 Ohio
569 2.9%
Texas share of Pierce's total US births 9.3%
Even split

1,824 of 19,646 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 46 reporting states.

Pierce appears in 46 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Pierce?
19,646 babies have been named Pierce since 1880. It currently ranks #538 among boys. The peak year was 2015 with 648 births.
When was Pierce most popular?
Pierce was most popular in the 2010s decade with 5,931 total births. The single peak year was 2015.
Where is Pierce most popular?
The top states for the name Pierce are Texas (1,824 births), California (1,619 births), Florida (897 births).
How long has the name Pierce been used?
Pierce has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Pierce?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Pierre, Pierson, Pietro, Pieter, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Pierce

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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.