Pacer
One who leads the way or sets the pace.
Name Census estimates that about 90 living Americans carry the first name Pacer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Pacer today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pacer births was 1972 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pacer. 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 Pacer. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
90
~ 1 in 3,808,382 Americans
Peak year
1972
7 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,569
Tracked since 1967
Census
Pacer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 148 people with the first name Pacer, which placed it at #45,698 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
#45,698
National first-name rank
People counted
148
148 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pacer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pacer is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.8%) and Hispanic (8.1%). 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 Pacer 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 Pacer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.9% · 105
- Two or more races10.8% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 12
- Black or African American4.7% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.7% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
Popularity
Pacer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pacer from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 41 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pacer 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 Pacer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pacer
The name Pacer has its origins in the Latin language, with roots tracing back to ancient Roman times. The word "paceor" in Latin means "to walk" or "to step," and it is likely that the name Pacer was derived from this root word, signifying someone who walks or moves at a steady pace.
During the Roman Empire, the term "pacer" was used to refer to a type of horse known for its distinctive gait, which involved moving both legs on the same side simultaneously. This unique walking pattern was highly prized for its smoothness and efficiency, and horses with this trait were often sought after by wealthy Roman citizens for their personal mounts or for use in ceremonial processions.
The earliest recorded use of the name Pacer can be found in medieval European records, where it was occasionally given to individuals who worked as messengers or couriers, whose job required them to walk or travel long distances on foot. In this context, the name likely served as a descriptor of their occupation or the manner in which they moved.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Pacer was a French merchant and explorer named Pacer de Montalban, who lived in the 13th century. He is credited with establishing trade routes and relationships with various Middle Eastern and North African regions, facilitating the exchange of goods and knowledge between Europe and the Islamic world.
Another notable figure in history with the name Pacer was Pacer di Pasolini, an Italian Renaissance painter and architect who lived from 1450 to 1515. His works, which included frescoes and church designs, are still celebrated for their intricate details and innovative use of perspective.
In the 17th century, Pacer Johannesson was a Swedish adventurer and explorer who is known for his travels through the Arctic regions of Scandinavia and Russia. His detailed accounts of the indigenous cultures and landscapes he encountered provided valuable insights into these remote areas at the time.
During the American Revolutionary War, Pacer Revere was a patriot and silversmith from Boston, known for his pivotal role in the famous "midnight ride" to warn the colonial militia of the approaching British forces in 1775. His courageous actions played a crucial part in the early stages of the American Revolution.
In more recent times, Pacer Cunningham was an American athlete and Olympian who competed in the men's marathon event at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Despite not winning a medal, his participation and perseverance in the face of adversity made him a celebrated figure in the history of American distance running.
People
Pacer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pacer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pacer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pacer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 90 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pacer 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 3,808,382 US residents.
Is Pacer a common name?
We classify Pacer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 94 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pacer most popular?
The single biggest year for Pacer was 1972, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pacer is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pacer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 148 people with the name Pacer, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,698 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 Pacer 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 Pacer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pacer leans strongly male. 145 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 3 female bearers (2.0%). 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 Pacer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pacer is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.8%) and Hispanic (8.1%). 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 Pacer most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pacer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.9% (105 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 Pacer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pacer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pacer 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 Pacer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pacer 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 Pacer 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 Americans are named Pacer?
See how many people have the name Pacer on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.