Peirce
One of Shakespearean origin meaning "rock" or "the maker of piercing wounds".
Name Census estimates that about 93 living Americans carry the first name Peirce. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Peirce today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Peirce births was 1999 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Peirce. 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 Peirce. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
93
~ 1 in 3,685,531 Americans
Peak year
1999
7 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2017 SSA rank
#13,745
Tracked since 1992
Popularity
Peirce: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Peirce from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 43 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Peirce remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Peirce 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 Peirce 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 Peirce
The name Peirce is an English variant of the name Peter, which is derived from the Greek name Petros, meaning "rock" or "stone." The name Peter was adopted into Latin as Petrus and subsequently evolved into various forms across different languages and cultures.
The name Peirce first emerged in England during the Middle Ages as a variation of the more common spelling "Pierce." It is believed to have originated as a surname referring to someone with a piercing gaze or a piercing personality. Over time, the surname Peirce became used as a given name as well.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Peirce can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as a surname. In the 13th century, the name appears in various records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled "Piers."
Historically, the name Peirce has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the most famous was Peirce Butler (c. 1330-1389), an English knight and military commander who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.
Another prominent figure was Peirce Egan (1772-1849), an Irish poet and songwriter known for his patriotic ballads and contributions to the development of Irish literature.
In the realm of philosophy, Peirce is most closely linked to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), an American philosopher, logician, mathematician, and scientist who is considered one of the founders of pragmatism and semiotics.
In the field of literature, Peirce Miller (1867-1953) was an American novelist and short story writer who is best known for his work "The Marrow of Tradition," which explored racial tensions in the American South.
Lastly, Peirce Anderson (1926-2019) was a renowned American science fiction author who won numerous awards, including seven Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards, for his influential works in the genre.
These are just a few examples of prominent individuals throughout history who bore the name Peirce, highlighting its enduring presence across various fields and disciplines.
People
Peirce + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Peirce 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
Peirce: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Peirce?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 93 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Peirce 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 3,685,531 US residents.
Is Peirce a common name?
We classify Peirce as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.5% 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 Peirce most popular?
The single biggest year for Peirce was 1999, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Peirce is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Peirce a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Peirce 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.
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.