Given name & surname
Peirce
“as solid and strong as a rock”
Peirce is a variant of Pierce. In English use, Pierce carries the interpretation “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Peirce is a variant of Pierce. In English use, Pierce carries the interpretation “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Peirce has a related form in Piers. An origin associated with Piers is Old French.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1992. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Peirce has a related form in Piers. The history of Piers gives this family its wider story. William Langland’s Piers Plowman presents Piers as a figure associated with work, honesty, and fairness. The poem may have helped encourage the name’s revival in the twentieth century.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Peirce through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 94
- 94 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1999
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2017. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 167 as a first name in 2020; 3,135 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Peirce’s family of names
Peirce has a related form in Pierce. In English usage, Peirce has a related form in Piers.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Peirce, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.