Jayce
A masculine name possibly derived from the English surname Jayce.
Name Census estimates that about 44,478 living Americans carry the first name Jayce. It sits at #169 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (96.2% of registrations). The average person named Jayce today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jayce births was 2015 (3,191 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jayce. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jayce with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Jayce is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,707 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Jayce is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
44K
~ 1 in 7,706 Americans
Peak year
2015
3,191 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#169
Tracked since 1929
Census
Jayce in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 28,326 people with the first name Jayce, which placed it at #1,300 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,300
National first-name rank
People counted
28K
28,326 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
9.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jayce
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jayce is White at 51.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.6%) and Hispanic (15.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jayce described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jayce at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.0% · 14,435
- Black or African American21.6% · 6,120
- Hispanic or Latino15.4% · 4,349
- Two or more races8.5% · 2,420
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 661
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 341
Gender
Gender distribution for Jayce
Jayce leans heavily male at 96.2% of total registrations, but 1,707 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jayce as a male name
- Ranked #169 in 2024
- 2,176 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (3,127 births)
Jayce as a female name
- Ranked #7,045 in 2024
- 16 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (89 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jayce leans strongly male. 26,833 people counted with this name were male (94.7%), compared with 1,494 female bearers (5.3%).
Popularity
Jayce: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jayce from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 24,966 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jayce remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jayce 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 Jayce during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jayces live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Jayce, while Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 825 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jayce
The name Jayce is believed to have its origins in the Middle English language, derived from the Old French name "Jaique" or "Jaque," which in turn comes from the Latin name "Jacobus," meaning "supplanter" or "one who grasps the heel." This Latin name traces its roots back to the Hebrew name "Ya'aqov," which was the name of one of the biblical patriarchs who became known as Israel.
In the Middle Ages, the name Jayce was a common variant of the more popular name James, particularly in England and other parts of the British Isles. It was often used as a diminutive or pet form of the name, similar to how the names Jack and Jackie are used today.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jayce can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a census commissioned by William the Conqueror to survey the landholdings in England. In this record, there is a mention of a landowner named "Jaice" in the county of Gloucestershire.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Jayce. One such figure was Jayce le Maréchal (c. 1170–1236), a French nobleman and soldier who served as a Marshal of France under King Philip II Augustus. He played a significant role in the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, which was a decisive victory for the French against the combined forces of England, Flanders, and the Holy Roman Empire.
Another notable bearer of the name was Jayce Somerled (c. 1185–1247), a Scottish nobleman and military commander who fought alongside King Alexander II of Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence against England. He was renowned for his bravery and tactical skills on the battlefield.
In the realm of literature, one can find the name Jayce in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, the renowned English poet and author of the 14th century. In his famous work, "The Canterbury Tales," there is a character named Jayce of Bury St. Edmunds, who is described as a wealthy merchant.
During the Renaissance period, there was a Jayce Fontana (1543–1607), an Italian architect and engineer who was known for his contributions to the development of hydraulic engineering and the design of water supply systems in various Italian cities.
In more recent times, the name Jayce has been carried by Jayce Diaz (1972–present), an American actress and fashion model who has appeared in several television shows and films.
While the name Jayce may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and connections to various cultures and historical figures make it a unique and intriguing choice for a given name.
People
Jayce + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jayce as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jayce: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jayce?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 44,478 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jayce 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 7,706 US residents.
Is Jayce a common name?
We classify Jayce as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 44,904 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jayce most popular?
The single biggest year for Jayce was 2015, when 3,191 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jayce is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jayce in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 28,326 people with the name Jayce, or 9.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,300 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jayce in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jayce?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jayce leans strongly male. 26,833 people counted with this name were male (94.7%), compared with 1,494 female bearers (5.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jayce?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jayce is White at 51.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.6%) and Hispanic (15.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jayce most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jayce in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.0% (14,435 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Jayce in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jayce a male name?
Yes, 96.2% of people registered as Jayce 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 Jayce still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jayce 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 Jayce 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.
How many people are called Jayce?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.