Royce
Of Old French origins, meaning a king or sovereign ruler.
Name Census estimates that about 25,403 living Americans carry the first name Royce. It sits at #462 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (92.9% of registrations). The average person named Royce today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Royce births was 2019 (857 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Royce. 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.
People living today
25K
~ 1 in 13,493 Americans
Peak year
2019
857 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#462
Tracked since 1892
Gender
Gender distribution for Royce
Royce leans heavily male at 92.9% of total registrations, but 2,488 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Royce as a male name
- Ranked #462 in 2024
- 669 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (809 births)
Royce as a female name
- Ranked #4,347 in 2024
- 33 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (74 births)
Popularity
Royce: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Royce from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 6,271 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Royce remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Royce 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 Royce during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Royces live
The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Royce, while Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 598 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Royce
The name Royce has its origins in the Old French language and is derived from the Germanic elements "hrod" meaning "renown" and "ric" meaning "power" or "ruler." It was originally a surname that emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 12th century.
In medieval France, the name was spelled as "Rois" or "Roys," and it was often used as a nickname for someone who displayed qualities of leadership, strength, or fame. The name eventually spread to other parts of Europe, including England, where it evolved into its current spelling of "Royce."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Royce can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, which mentions a landowner named "Rodric" in Staffordshire, England. This could be an early variation of the name Royce.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Royce. One of the most famous was Sir Henry Royce (1863-1933), the co-founder of the prestigious Rolls-Royce automotive company. His engineering expertise and commitment to quality made Rolls-Royce a symbol of luxury and excellence.
Another prominent figure was Josiah Royce (1855-1916), an American philosopher and logician who taught at Harvard University. He made significant contributions to the field of idealism and is known for his works such as "The World and the Individual" and "The Problem of Christianity."
In the realm of literature, Royce Ryton (1924-2009) was a Canadian author and playwright known for his works on environmental and social issues. His novel "Clouds of Witness" (1958) explored the impact of industrialization on the environment.
The name Royce also gained recognition in the world of sports. Royce Howland (1901-1974) was an American basketball player and coach who was a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He played a significant role in the development of the sport in the early 20th century.
Royce Gracie (born 1967) is a Brazilian martial artist and one of the founding figures of mixed martial arts (MMA). He gained fame for his success in the early Ultimate Fighting Championships and helped popularize the sport worldwide.
While the name Royce has its roots in Old French and medieval Europe, it has become more widely used and recognized globally, with individuals from various cultures and backgrounds bearing this name and leaving their mark in various fields.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Royce
People
Royce + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Royce as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Royce: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Royce?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 25,403 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Royce 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 13,493 US residents.
Is Royce a common name?
We classify Royce as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 35,031 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Royce most popular?
The single biggest year for Royce was 2019, when 857 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Royce is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Royce a male name?
Yes, 92.9% of people registered as Royce 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.