Bruce Lee
There are approximately 623 people named Bruce Lee living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 550,167 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Bruce with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Lee. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
623
1 in 550,167
Named Bruce
268K
Alive today
Named Lee
798K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 268K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1956
Average age: 64
Top Census group: White (85.9%)
Estimated bearers: 798K
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #19
Per 100K: 232.74
Top ancestry: Asian/Pacific Islander (43.9%)
First name trend
Bruce: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Bruce. The peak year was 1956 with 14,693 births. The average person named Bruce today is 64 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bruce
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Bruce, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 85.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bruce described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Bruce at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White85.9% · 229,979
- Black or African American7.4% · 19,831
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 6,549
- Two or more races2.1% · 5,726
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 4,230
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1,501
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Lee surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Lee, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 43.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Lee described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Lee at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Asian and Pacific Islander43.9% · 305,384
- White33.2% · 231,237
- Black or African American15.3% · 106,166
- Two or more races4.2% · 28,967
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 17,627
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 6,276
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Bruce has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0781% of the US population, based on 267,607 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Bruce right now.
The surname Lee appears at a rate of 232.74 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.2327%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 623 people with the full name Bruce Lee. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Bruce
Related
Other people with the surname Lee
FAQ
Bruce Lee: questions and answers
How many people are named Bruce Lee?
We estimate approximately 623 people in the United States share the full name Bruce Lee. That works out to about 1 in 550,167 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0781%) with the surname frequency (232.74 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Bruce Lee?
We classify Bruce Lee as "Very Rare". About 1 in 550,167 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Bruce a male or female name?
Bruce is predominantly male. Out of 387,708 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Bruce profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many Americans are named Bruce Lee?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.