boys' name ★ peaked 2015

Pierce

Gender Boy · 2% girls Rank 2025 #505 Trend → Stable

A male given name from Ancient Greek, medieval variant of Piers.

Rank 2025
#505
among boys · ↑35 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
618
named Pierce · +6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,856
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2015
668 babies
All-time total
20,634
#835 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Pierce popularity over time

20,634 babies have been named Pierce since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.10.20.30.418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 133 133 13 – #394
1890s – 127 127 13 -5% #402
1900s – 133 133 13 +5% #581
1910s – 413 413 41 +211% #751
1920s – 560 560 56 +36% #781
1930s – 409 409 41 -27% #890
1940s – 373 373 37 -9% #1,022
1950s – 306 306 31 -18% #1,196
1960s – 234 234 23 -24% #1,381
1970s – 179 179 18 -24% #1,863
1980s – 779 779 78 +335% #811
1990s 17 2,398 2,415 242 +210% #577
2000s 73 4,898 4,971 497 +106% #475
2010s 152 5,931 6,083 608 +22% #462
2020s (to 2025) 147 3,372 3,519 587 -4% #503

Where Pierce is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 599 0.35 outside top 500
2027 599 0.35 outside top 500
2028 600 0.35 outside top 500
2029 600 0.35 outside top 500
2030 601 0.35 outside top 500

Where Pierce is most popular

Boys named Pierce per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.323 per 1,000. Strongest in South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Pierce born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
South Dakota 12 0.645 +100%
Kansas 43 0.627 +94%
Nebraska 27 0.621 +92%
Connecticut 41 0.606 +87%
Montana 10 0.567 +75%
Louisiana 55 0.538 +66%
Pennsylvania 142 0.535 +65%
Colorado 63 0.488 +51%
South Carolina 48 0.464 +44%
Iowa 32 0.464 +44%
Wisconsin 53 0.447 +38%
Utah 42 0.440 +36%
Illinois 106 0.415 +28%
Virginia 78 0.411 +27%
Oklahoma 36 0.407 +26%
Massachusetts 55 0.400 +24%
North Carolina 102 0.399 +24%
Georgia 101 0.399 +23%
Minnesota 48 0.391 +21%
Tennessee 70 0.388 +20%
Michigan 79 0.386 +19%
Indiana 61 0.380 +18%
Texas 331 0.376 +16%
Missouri 50 0.361 +12%
North Dakota 6 0.351 +9%
Washington 56 0.342 +6%
District of Columbia 5 0.339 +5%
Arizona 55 0.336 ≈ national
Maryland 40 0.335 ≈ national
Oregon 25 0.329 ≈ national
Arkansas 20 0.316 ≈ national
Kentucky 31 0.309 ≈ national
New Jersey 61 0.303 -6%
Florida 139 0.294 -9%
Ohio 75 0.283 -12%
New York 121 0.279 -14%
California 246 0.269 -17%
Nevada 13 0.228 -29%
New Hampshire 5 0.225 -30%
West Virginia 7 0.214 -34%
Alabama 23 0.210 -35%
Idaho 5 0.122 -62%
Mississippi 5 0.088 -73%
Alaska – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Pierce

Pierce is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #505 in 2025 with 598 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 20,634 American babies have been named Pierce. Its peak came in 2015, when 668 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Pierce stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Pierce?

The median living Pierce is about 15 years old; half are between 7 and 24. An estimated 18 thousand people named Pierce are alive in the United States today.

median 15 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Pierce year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 20 #6,061 598 #505
2024 29 #4,748 554 #540
2023 22 #5,692 537 #547
2022 32 #4,446 518 #571
2021 20 #6,120 585 #503
2020 24 #5,280 580 #504
2019 22 #5,752 590 #490
2018 19 #6,459 588 #490
2017 15 #7,755 547 #523
2016 14 #8,299 647 #474
2015 20 #6,409 648 #466
2014 11 #10,003 621 #469
2013 15 #8,064 608 #462
2012 14 #8,527 570 #479
2011 10 #10,997 565 #473
2010 12 #9,665 547 #476
2009 – – 575 #475
2008 12 #9,943 538 #506
2007 9 #12,417 544 #487
2006 11 #10,442 454 #554
2005 8 #12,734 502 #496
2004 8 #12,460 478 #512
2003 8 #12,122 512 #484
2002 7 #13,283 438 #519
2001 – – 399 #542
2000 10 #9,705 458 #498
1995 – – 223 #715
1990 – – 136 #885
1985 – – 107 #880
1980 – – 17 #2,810
1975 – – 11 #3,384
1970 – – 18 #2,192
1965 – – 19 #1,847
1960 – – 29 #1,515
1955 – – 36 #1,268
1950 – – 31 #1,310
1945 – – 23 #1,402
1940 – – 33 #1,175
1935 – – 32 #1,187
1930 – – 55 #907
1925 – – 56 #908
1920 – – 57 #921
1915 – – 48 #900
1910 – – 11 #1,029
1905 – – 15 #629
1900 – – 15 #674
1895 – – 14 #576
1890 – – 21 #402
1885 – – 15 #496
1880 – – 16 #458

Famous people named Pierce

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brosnan Irish actor (born 1953) Contemporary
  2. 2 Pierce Gagnon Pierce Gagnon American actor (born 2005) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Pierce, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Pierce?

The median living Pierce is about 15 years old. Half of all living Pierces are between 7 and 24 years old.

How many people named Pierce are alive today?

An estimated 18 thousand people named Pierce are alive in the United States, based on 20,634 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Pierce mean?

A male given name from Ancient Greek, medieval variant of Piers.

How popular is the name Pierce in 2025?

Pierce ranked #505 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 598 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Pierce?

20,634 babies have been named Pierce in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Pierce most popular?

Pierce peaked in 2015, when 668 newborns received the name.

Is Pierce a boy or girl name?

Pierce is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 98% of babies with the name.

Is the name Pierce rising or falling?

Pierce has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Pierce become more popular?

Pierce looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 601 boys named Pierce in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Pierce?

Well-known people named Pierce include Pierce Brosnan (actor), Pierce Gagnon (actor).

Names like Pierce

Names that sound and feel close to Pierce: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Pierce with similar names → More names starting with P →