2000
#4,121
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,960
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.95
Rare Last name
Trice
Derived from the Middle English word "trice," meaning a very short period of time or an instant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,300 Americans carry the last name Trice. That puts it at #4,227 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,855 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Trice 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 Trice with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.3K
1 in 36,855
Census rank
#4,227
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,110 bearers of the surname Trice in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4227th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Trice, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.0%. The next largest groups are White (41.0%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Trice
The surname TRICE is believed to have originated in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "thrycc," which means "a cluster or bundle of twigs or sticks." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive surname to someone who worked with bundles of twigs or sticks, perhaps a woodcutter or a basket maker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name TRICE can be found in the Rotuli Hundredorum, a census-like record compiled in England in the late 13th century. This document mentions a person named William Trice, who lived in Oxfordshire during that time period. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where it is spelled as "Tryse."
In the 16th century, the TRICE surname is found in various parish records and tax rolls across different counties in England. For example, a John Trice was listed in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1542, while a Thomas Trice appeared in the Protestation Returns of Wiltshire in 1641.
During the 17th century, the name TRICE gained some prominence with the birth of Sir Thomas Trice (1608-1675), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Southampton. He was also appointed as the Recorder of Southampton in 1660.
Another notable figure with the TRICE surname was Benjamin Trice (1655-1713), an English clergy member who served as the Archdeacon of St Albans from 1704 until his death. He was born in Northamptonshire and attended Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
The name TRICE can also be traced back to various places in England, such as the village of Trice in Gloucestershire, and the hamlet of Trice in Dorset. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
Other individuals with the TRICE surname include John Trice (1670-1718), an English poet and writer from Hertfordshire, and Edward Trice (1835-1903), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London and other parts of England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Trice
Among Census respondents with the surname Trice, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.0%. The next largest groups are White (41.0%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Trice 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 Trice surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.0% · 3,974
- White41.0% · 3,326
- Two or more races6.1% · 497
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 229
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 67
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Trice
Trice 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
#4,145
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,546
+586 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 2.90
Rank movement Down 24 places
2020
#4,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,110
-436 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 2.71
Rank movement Down 82 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,121 | 7,960 | 2.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,145 | 8,546 | 2.90 | +586 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 24 places |
| 2020 | #4,227 | 8,110 | 2.71 | -436 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 82 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 Trice 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 | #4,145 | #4,227 | -2.0% |
| Count | 8,546 | 8,110 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.90 | 2.71 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Trice bearers went from 8,546 to 8,110 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 82 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,145 to #4,227.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Trice
FAQ
Trice surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Trice?
Name Census estimates that about 9,300 living Americans carry the surname Trice. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,855 residents.
How common is Trice?
Trice ranks #4,227 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,110 people with the surname Trice. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,300), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Trice.
Has Trice become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Trice went from 8,546 recorded bearers to 8,110. That is a decrease of 436 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,145 to #4,227.
What does the Census say about the background of Trice?
Among Census respondents with the surname Trice, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.0%. The next largest groups are White (41.0%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Trice in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.0% (3,974 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Trice appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (49.0%), White (41.0%), Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Trice (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 Trice mean?
Derived from the Middle English word "trice," meaning a very short period of time or an instant. 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 Trice (2.71 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 Trice?
Find out how many people have the last name Trice on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.