Walace
A French masculine name meaning "foreigner" or "stranger".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Walace. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Walace today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Walace births was 1923 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Walace. 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 Walace. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1923
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1923 SSA rank
#4,217
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Walace: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Walace from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Walace 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 Walace 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 Walace
The name Walace is derived from the Old Frankish name Waldlehcoz, which means "ruler of the forest." The name originated among the Frankish tribes of modern-day Germany and France during the early medieval period.
The first recorded use of the name Walace can be traced back to the 8th century, when it appeared in the Annals of Fulda, a chronicle written by monks in the Benedictine abbey of Fulda. The name was relatively uncommon during this era, but it gained popularity among the Frankish nobility and eventually spread to other parts of Europe.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Walace was Walace of Worms, a 9th-century Frankish nobleman who served as a count in the Carolingian Empire. He played a significant role in the military campaigns of Charlemagne and was mentioned in the Royal Frankish Annals.
In the 12th century, the name Walace gained prominence with the Scottish hero William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against the English during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Born around 1270, Wallace became a symbol of Scottish patriotism and is celebrated in the epic poem "The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace," written in the late 15th century.
Another notable figure with the name Walace was Alfred Russel Wallace, a British naturalist, explorer, and co-discoverer of the theory of evolution through natural selection. Born in 1823, Wallace conducted extensive research in the Malay Archipelago and published his findings in several influential works, including "The Malay Archipelago" and "Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection."
In the 20th century, Walace Fard Muhammad, born Wallace D. Fard in 1891, was a influential figure in the early development of the Nation of Islam. He introduced the teachings of the Nation of Islam to Detroit, Michigan, and played a pivotal role in shaping the organization's beliefs and practices.
Walace Souza, born in 1958, is a Brazilian football coach and former player. He had a successful career as a midfielder, playing for various clubs in Brazil and Japan, and later became a highly respected coach, winning several titles with São Paulo FC and the Brazilian national team.
People
Walace + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Walace as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Walace: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Walace?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Walace 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 - US residents.
Is Walace a common name?
We classify Walace as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Walace most popular?
The single biggest year for Walace was 1923, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Walace is about 0 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 Walace in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Walace a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Walace 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 Walace still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Walace 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 Walace 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 many people have Walace as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Walace on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.