2000
#6,918
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,475
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.66
Rare Last name
Bryce
A surname of Scottish origin referring to someone who lived near a speckled or spotted place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,377 Americans carry the last name Bryce. That puts it at #6,902 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 63,745 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bryce surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bryce with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.4K
1 in 63,745
Census rank
#6,902
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,689 bearers of the surname Bryce in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6902nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bryce, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bryce
The surname Bryce is of Scottish origin and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to be a territorial name derived from the lands of Brice or Bryce in Moray, Scotland. The name may have originated from the Gaelic word "bris," meaning "broken."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bryce is found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1264, which mention a person named William de Bris. The name is also found in various other Scottish records from the 13th and 14th centuries, such as the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which contain the name John de Brys.
The surname Bryce is also associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir John Bryce, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century.
In the 16th century, James Bryce (c. 1510-1592) was a Scottish scholar and philosopher who served as the Regent of the University of St. Andrews. He was a prominent figure in the Scottish Reformation and played a significant role in the development of Protestant theology in Scotland.
Another notable bearer of the name was James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce (1838-1922), a British academic, jurist, and politician. He served as the British Ambassador to the United States from 1907 to 1913 and was a strong advocate for international cooperation and peace.
In the field of literature, Colette Bryce (born 1970) is a Northern Irish poet and novelist who has won numerous awards for her work, including the Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize and the Cholmondeley Award.
The surname Bryce has also been associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Bryce's Farm in Aberdeenshire and Bryce's Hill in Moray. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname Bryce who owned or lived in these areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bryce
Among Census respondents with the surname Bryce, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Bryce bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Bryce surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 3,548
- Black or African American12.8% · 601
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 241
- Two or more races4.6% · 214
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bryce
Bryce appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,001
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,785
+310 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 1.62
Rank movement Down 83 places
2020
#6,902
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,689
-96 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 1.57
Rank movement Up 99 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,918 | 4,475 | 1.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,001 | 4,785 | 1.62 | +310 bearers (+6.9%) | Down 83 places |
| 2020 | #6,902 | 4,689 | 1.57 | -96 bearers (-2.0%) | Up 99 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Bryce surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,001 | #6,902 | 1.4% |
| Count | 4,785 | 4,689 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.62 | 1.57 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bryce bearers went from 4,785 to 4,689 (-2.0% change). The surname moved up 99 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,001 to #6,902.
FAQ
Bryce surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bryce?
Name Census estimates that about 5,377 living Americans carry the surname Bryce. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 63,745 residents.
How common is Bryce?
Bryce ranks #6,902 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,689 people with the surname Bryce. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,377), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Bryce.
Has Bryce become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bryce went from 4,785 recorded bearers to 4,689. That is a decrease of 96 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,001 to #6,902.
What does the Census say about the background of Bryce?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bryce, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bryce in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (3,548 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bryce appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.7%), Black (12.8%), Hispanic (5.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Bryce (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Bryce mean?
A surname of Scottish origin referring to someone who lived near a speckled or spotted place. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Bryce (1.57 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Bryce?
Find out how common the surname Bryce is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.