Druce
Derived from the name Drew, meaning people's leader or prosperous guide.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Druce. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Druce today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Druce births was 1980 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Druce. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Druce. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1980
5 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1980 SSA rank
#6,526
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Druce: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Druce 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 Druce during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Druce
The name Druce is believed to have originated from the Old English word "drūce," which means "a dwarf" or "a small person." It is thought to have emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th centuries.
This name was likely used as a nickname or a descriptive term for someone of short stature or diminutive size. It may have been derived from the Old English words "drūg" (meaning "dry" or "withered") and "drūgan" (meaning "to dry up" or "to wither"), which could have been used metaphorically to describe a person's physical appearance.
While the name Druce is relatively rare, it has been recorded in historical documents and records throughout the centuries. One of the earliest known mentions of the name was in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelled as "Druce" and referred to a landowner or tenant in Hertfordshire, England.
Over the years, various spellings of the name have appeared, including Druce, Drewce, Drewse, and Drewes. These variations may have emerged due to regional dialects, scribal errors, or attempts to modernize the spelling.
Several notable individuals have borne the name Druce throughout history. One of the earliest recorded was Sir Robert Druce (c. 1350 – c. 1415), an English landowner and Member of Parliament during the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV.
Another significant figure was Thomas Druce (1573 – 1617), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of St. Michael Bassishaw in London and wrote several religious works, including "The Cry of Stone" and "The Glorious Progress of the Gospel."
In the 19th century, Joseph Druce (1828 – 1900) was a prominent English botanist and author who specialized in the study of plants and published several books, including "The Flora of Oxfordshire" and "The Flora of Berkshire."
George Claridge Druce (1850 – 1932) was another notable botanist and author from England, known for his extensive work on the flora of the British Isles and his contributions to the field of plant taxonomy.
A more recent figure was Samuel Druce (1882 – 1950), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in the early 20th century.
While the name Druce may not be as common as some others, it has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries, highlighting its enduring presence in the English-speaking world.
People
Druce + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Druce as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Druce: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Druce?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Druce 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Druce a common name?
We classify Druce as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Druce most popular?
The single biggest year for Druce was 1980, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Druce is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Druce in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Druce a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Druce 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 Druce still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Druce 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 Druce 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Druce?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Druce at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.