Bruce is used as a family name or surname in Ireland, Scotland, England. It is 5 characters long in length.

Family Name / Last Name: Bruce
No. of characters: 5
Origin: Ireland, Scotland, England
Meaning:

A passage in Drummond's British Families seems conclusiveon this point: "Nathaniel Johnstone, M.D., wrote a history of the family of Bruce; he affirms the identity of the Bruces and Braoses. The assertion is supported by many probabilities.

1. "The Baron of Bramber was not a mere upstart who had signalised himself for the first time in the ranks of the Conqueror's army, for he held lands and churches in Normandy, as is assertedby writings still extant.
2. The alliances first recorded of his descendants are of the first families of the country.
3 .The spelling of the name in one of the oldest records, (6 John, Claus. Rot.) The name of the Baron of Bram ber is spelt Breus, and one of the latest ways of spell ing by his posterity is Breures; the spelling of another is Bruys and Brehus, whilst Pagan, one of the sons of Robert de Brus, writes his name Brausa, and in another charter Braiosa, the very spelling supposed to be peculiar to the Barons of Bramber, and which name is written identically the same in both families. What is really extraordinary is, that in more than one instance the father signs his name Robert de Brus, and the son Pagan de Brehuse. The difference in orthography arises from the different way in which the people of Sussex and Herefordshire would pronounce the same name from the people of Yorkshire and Scotland." There is a general resemblance, also, between the arms of the Braoses of Normandy and England and those of the Bruces of Scotland. M. de Gerville, however, deduces the royal Bruces of Scotland from aperfectly distinct source, namely, from the Château d'Adam, in the great parish of Brix, a few miles south-east of Cherbourg. This château was built in the time of the dukes of Normandy, by Adam, a lord of Brix, whom M. de Gerville presumes to have been an ancestor of the Brucewho accompanied the Conqueror into England. The name of the parish has frequently been written Bruis. Mem. Soc. Antiq. Normandie, 1825.

The following passage, from Boswell's Tour in the Hebrides with Dr.Johnson, is of some interest: - "We proceeded to Fort George. When we came into the square, I sent a soldier with the letter to a Mr. Ferne. He came to us immediately, and along with him came Major Brewse, of the Engineers, pronounced Bruce. He said he believed it was originally thesame Norinan name with Bruce, and that he had dined at a house in London where were three Bruces, one of the Irish line, one of the Scottish line, and himself of the English line. He said he was shown it in the Heralds' Office spelt in fourteen different ways." I think it would be easy to produce double that number of spellings.

Variation of the Braose. BruceThe castle of Braose, now Brieuse, is two leagues from Falaise in Normandy. It was built by Robert de Braose, who had two sons: 1. Alan, who with his posterity remained in Normandy, and 2. Robert, who came to England with the Conqueror, but died soon after. He left, however, two sons: 1. William, who founded the baronial house of Braose of Bramber, Gower, etc ., and 2. Adam, ances tor of the Bruces of Skelton, Annandale, &c., and of King Robert Bruce. Dr. John ston's Hist. of Fam. of Bruce. See - A passage in Drummond's British Families seems conclusiveon this point: "Nathaniel Johnstone, M.D., wrote a history of the family of Bruce; he affirms the identity of the Bruces and Braoses. The assertion is supported by many probabilities.

1. "The Baron of Bramber was not a mere upstart who had signalised himself for the first time in the ranks of the Conqueror's army, for he held lands and churches in Normandy, as is assertedby writings still extant.
2. The alliances first recorded of his descendants are of the first families of the country.
3 .The spelling of the name in one of the oldest records, (6 John, Claus. Rot.) The name of the Baron of Bram ber is spelt Breus, and one of the latest ways of spell ing by his posterity is Breures; the spelling of another is Bruys and Brehus, whilst Pagan, one of the sons of Robert de Brus, writes his name Brausa, and in another charter Braiosa, the very spelling supposed to be peculiar to the Barons of Bramber, and which name is written identically the same in both families. What is really extraordinary is, that in more than one instance the father signs his name Robert de Brus, and the son Pagan de Brehuse. The difference in orthography arises from the different way in which the people of Sussex and Herefordshire would pronounce the same name from the people of Yorkshire and Scotland." There is a general resemblance, also, between the arms of the Braoses of Normandy and England and those of the Bruces of Scotland. M. de Gerville, however, deduces the royal Bruces of Scotland from aperfectly distinct source, namely, from the Château d'Adam, in the great parish of Brix, a few miles south-east of Cherbourg. This château was built in the time of the dukes of Normandy, by Adam, a lord of Brix, whom M. de Gerville presumes to have been an ancestor of the Brucewho accompanied the Conqueror into England. The name of the parish has frequently been written Bruis. Mem. Soc. Antiq. Normandie, 1825.

The following passage, from Boswell's Tour in the Hebrides with Dr.Johnson, is of some interest: - "We proceeded to Fort George. When we came into the square, I sent a soldier with the letter to a Mr. Ferne. He came to us immediately, and along with him came Major Brewse, of the Engineers, pronounced Bruce. He said he believed it was originally thesame Norinan name with Bruce, and that he had dined at a house in London where were three Bruces, one of the Irish line, one of the Scottish line, and himself of the English line. He said he was shown it in the Heralds' Office spelt in fourteen different ways." I think it would be easy to produce double that number of spellings.

One who came from Braose, now Brieuse, in Normandy.

Lastname is the variation of Bruise. One of the many forms of Braose or Bruce.

How popular is Bruce?

Bruce is common in United States, Ghana, England, Australia, Canada, Scotland, Togo, Philippines, New Zealand, South Africa, Jamaica, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Northern Ireland, Chad, Sweden, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Wales, Chile, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Israel, Guyana, France, Liberia, Panama, India, Egypt, Ireland, Argentina, China, Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Barbados, Finland, Netherlands, Spain, Fiji, Ivory Coast, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Germany, Namibia, Singapore, Benin.

Bruce is ranked 3449 on our list.

Despite the fact that the number of Bruce bearers increased by 2.72 per cent in 2010 US census to 53419 since 2000, the surname slipped by 53 spots and ranked at 636. The last name was found in around 2 per ten thousand population. Please refer to following table for race and ethnicity.

Race 2010 2000
White 77.35 79.85
Black 15.89 14.99
Hispanic or Latino 2.7 1.87
Others 2.2 1.73
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.13 1.02
Asian and Native Hawaiian
& Other Pacific Islander		 0.74 0.53
Bruce is quite popular family name mostly used in United States while Norfolk Island is ahead in terms of density. Around 162377 people have been found who wears Bruce as their family name. Bruce is used widely across the globe. More detailed information can be found below:
RankCountryCount
Countries with ten thousands of Bruce:
583 United States70,583
257 Ghana17,249
477 England15,878
347 Australia10,456
474 Canada10,129
Countries with thousands of Bruce:
77 Scotland9,139
180 Togo4,305
4,938 Philippines3,047
260 New Zealand2,358
3,149 South Africa2,192
307 Jamaica1,521
7,789 Nigeria1,506
350 Papua New Guinea1,448
167 Trinidad and Tobago1,209
Countries with hundreds of Bruce:
1,908 Venezuela947
621 Northern Ireland602
2,818 Chad578
1,459 Sweden574
1,834 Haiti462
9,753 Kenya402
6,239 Malawi392
895 Wales384
2,203 Chile369
26,412 Brazil297
7,441 Sri Lanka292
41,574 Thailand288
4,432 Israel274
519 Guyana271
38,568 France266
1,723 Liberia265
1,235 Panama224
100,445 India216
25,756 Egypt214
2,292 Ireland200
18,973 Argentina184
558 China165
3,114 Dominican Republic162
29,524 Saudi Arabia159
42,794 Morocco136
386 Barbados134
5,227 Finland132
20,052 Netherlands131
20,695 Spain127
1,425 Fiji126
8,267 Ivory Coast122
219 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines117
53,217 Germany116
3,646 Namibia114
1,908 Singapore111
10,901 Benin109
Countries with low frequency i.e., 50 - 100:
7,765 Norway95
19,929 Malaysia78
17,952 Mexico68
6,926 Kuwait67
8,155 Colombia65
27,433 Zimbabwe60
29,184 Japan57
14,875 Peru57
35,796 Uganda54
14,619 Switzerland53
2,716 Suriname51
Countries with very low frequency i.e., 10 - 50:
357 Burundi49
1,708 Senegal46
78,318 Italy45
1,781 Costa Rica44
13,026 Denmark38
10,086 Portugal38
1,397 Brunei37
3,051 Solomon Islands36
704 Saint Lucia35
3,021 Hong Kong32
41,070 Belgium30
4,302 Cambodia29
11,415 Ecuador28
234,077 Indonesia27
767 Isle of Man24
1,623 Belize22
13,535 Uruguay22
145,665 DR Congo21
4,510 Cyprus20
844 United States Virgin Islands20
5,830 Cuba19
304 Gambia16
51,703 Pakistan16
23,583 United Arab Emirates16
690 Bermuda15
4,150 Oman15
1,045 Aruba14
585 Gibraltar13
76,885 Czechia11
Countries with very very low frequency i.e., 6 - 10:
57,086 Tanzania10
179 Central African Republic9
14,518 Ethiopia9
439 British Virgin Islands8
3,029 Guam8
2,398 Jersey8
1,091 South Korea8
1,961 American Samoa6
1,436 Antigua and Barbuda6
89,049 Greece6
26,199 Latvia6
64 Norfolk Island6
55,922 Qatar6
144,247 Turkey6
Show Full Last Name Distribution

Immigrants to US

From Ireland

William Bruce was 25 years old when he migrated to USA during Irish famine on May 6, 1846. He lived in Ireland where he worked as workman and took Reliance from Liverpool. 20 years old U Bruce, 24 years old Richard Bruce, Workman Isaac Bruce, Margaret Bruce, aged 33, Margt.M. Bruce, aged 20, Decorator Joseph Bruce, Eliza Bruce (18) Maid, William Bruce, aged 19, and 63 other Bruce around 43.24% of whom were workman while others worked as servant and farmer, carpenter, tailoress migrated to US from Liverpool, Belfast, London and Portsmouth, Glasgow and Londonderry.

From Germany

C.H.C. Bruce was 40 years old when he migrated to USA on July 17, 1858. He lived in Germany where he worked as seaman and took Austrian from Hamburg & Southampton. Laborer Carl-L. Bruce, Hanah Bruce, Maria Bruce, Maria Bruce (42), Simon Bruce, aged 3, Rudolf Bruce, Sailor Nicol Bruce, are others that migrated to US.

Bruce Namesakes

  • Stanley Bruce, eighth Prime Minister of Australia
  • Edward Bruce, younger brother of Robert the Bruce
  • Alexander Balmain Bruce, Scottish churchman and theologian
  • Ailsa Mellon Bruce, prominent American socialite and philanthropist
  • Frank Bruce, sailor and an officer in the United States Navy
  • Jean Bruce, prolific French popular writer
  • Alexander Carmichael Bruce, British barrister
  • Doug Bruce, English-American photographer
  • Laurence Bruce, son of John Bruce of Cultmalindie and Eupheme Elphinstone
  • Patrick Henry Bruce, American cubist painter
  • Dorita Fairlie Bruce, British children's author
  • Robert A. Bruce, He was known as the "father of exercise cardiology" for his research and development of the Bruce Protocol
  • Mary Grant Bruce, Australian children's author and journalist
  • Neely Bruce, American composer, conductor, pianist
  • Garnett Bruce, prominent American opera director
  • King Bruce, Ghanaian composer, band leader and musician
  • Mary Bruce, younger sister of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots
  • Christina Bruce, daughter of Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, and her husband, Robert de Brus
  • Andrew A. Bruce, American judge
  • Gainsford Bruce, British politician and judge
  • Theodore Bruce, auctioneer
  • Robert the Bruce,
  • Lenny Bruce, American stand-up comedian, social critic
  • Jack Bruce, Scottish musician
  • Blanche Bruce, African-American politician
  • Malcolm Bruce, British Liberal Democrat politician
  • Nigel Bruce, British character actor on stage and screen
  • Fiona Bruce, English television journalist
  • Catherine Wolfe Bruce, noted American philanthropist and patroness of astronomy
  • Steve Bruce, English professional football manager and former player
  • William Speirs Bruce, Scottish naturalist
  • Virginia Bruce, American actress and singer
  • James Bruce, Scottish traveller and travel writer
  • Isaac Bruce, former American football wide receiver
  • Marjorie Bruce, eldest daughter of Robert the Bruce
  • John Edward Bruce, American journalist, historian, writer, orator
  • Ken Bruce, Scottish broadcaster
  • F. F. Bruce, biblical scholar
  • Aundray Bruce, former American football player
  • William Cabell Bruce, American politician and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer
  • Tammy Bruce, American radio host, author
  • Cameron Bruce, former professional Australian rules footballer
  • Herbert Alexander Bruce, CanadianMP
  • Brenda Bruce, British actress
  • DeWayne Bruce, professional wrestler
  • Jacob Bruce, Russian statesman
  • Lord Charles Bruce, British soldier and Liberal Party politician
  • Caroline Bruce, American former competition swimmer
  • Christopher Bruce, British choreographer and performer
  • Earle Bruce, American football player and coach

Bruce Namesakes

  • Stanley Bruce, eighth Prime Minister of Australia
  • Edward Bruce, younger brother of Robert the Bruce
  • Alexander Balmain Bruce, Scottish churchman and theologian
  • Ailsa Mellon Bruce, prominent American socialite and philanthropist
  • Frank Bruce, sailor and an officer in the United States Navy
  • Jean Bruce, prolific French popular writer
  • Alexander Carmichael Bruce, British barrister
  • Doug Bruce, English-American photographer
  • Laurence Bruce, son of John Bruce of Cultmalindie and Eupheme Elphinstone
  • Patrick Henry Bruce, American cubist painter
  • Dorita Fairlie Bruce, British children's author
  • Robert A. Bruce, He was known as the "father of exercise cardiology" for his research and development of the Bruce Protocol
  • Mary Grant Bruce, Australian children's author and journalist
  • Neely Bruce, American composer, conductor, pianist
  • Garnett Bruce, prominent American opera director
  • King Bruce, Ghanaian composer, band leader and musician
  • Mary Bruce, younger sister of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots
  • Christina Bruce, daughter of Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, and her husband, Robert de Brus
  • Andrew A. Bruce, American judge
  • Gainsford Bruce, British politician and judge
  • Theodore Bruce, auctioneer
  • Robert the Bruce,
  • Lenny Bruce, American stand-up comedian, social critic
  • Jack Bruce, Scottish musician
  • Blanche Bruce, African-American politician
  • Malcolm Bruce, British Liberal Democrat politician
  • Nigel Bruce, British character actor on stage and screen
  • Fiona Bruce, English television journalist
  • Catherine Wolfe Bruce, noted American philanthropist and patroness of astronomy
  • Steve Bruce, English professional football manager and former player
  • William Speirs Bruce, Scottish naturalist
  • Virginia Bruce, American actress and singer
  • James Bruce, Scottish traveller and travel writer
  • Isaac Bruce, former American football wide receiver
  • Marjorie Bruce, eldest daughter of Robert the Bruce
  • John Edward Bruce, American journalist, historian, writer, orator
  • Ken Bruce, Scottish broadcaster
  • F. F. Bruce, biblical scholar
  • Aundray Bruce, former American football player
  • William Cabell Bruce, American politician and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer
  • Tammy Bruce, American radio host, author
  • Cameron Bruce, former professional Australian rules footballer
  • Herbert Alexander Bruce, CanadianMP
  • Brenda Bruce, British actress
  • DeWayne Bruce, professional wrestler
  • Jacob Bruce, Russian statesman
  • Lord Charles Bruce, British soldier and Liberal Party politician
  • Caroline Bruce, American former competition swimmer
  • Christopher Bruce, British choreographer and performer
  • Earle Bruce, American football player and coach

Related Family Names: