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 [ 1 syll. bru-ce, br-uce ] The boy name Bruce is pronounced BRUWS KEY. Bruce's origin is Old French, and its use, English and Scottish. The first name is derived from a Norman French baronial name, itself taken from the name of a place in northern France which could have been Braose or else uncertain. The surname was borne by the Bruces, an influential Norman family in Scotland during medieval times; it was especially known from Robert the Bruce (1274-1329), the King of the Scots who achieved independence from England for Scotland. The use of the first name among English speakers outside Scotland started in the late 19th century. Recently the name has been especially popular in Australia such that it is used as a generic name for any male, much as Sheila is used to refer to a woman; in the Monty Python sketch all the Australians were named Bruce. The pet forms Brucey (English) and Brucie (English) are variants of the name. Bruce is an all-time favorite. Currently it is still rather popular as a baby boy name, but not as much as it was previously. At the height of its usage in 1951, 0.737% of baby boys were named Bruce. It was #26 in rank then. The baby name has markedly slipped in popularity since then, and is of only modest use in recent times. In 2008, it ranked at #476 with a usage of 0.027%, but it was nevertheless the most widely used within all boy names in its family. Baby names that sound like Bruce include the German Berg, the English Berk, the English Berke, the English Bersh, the English Birch, the English Birk, the English Birke, the name Borg, the Scandinavian Börje, the Scandinavian Børge, the Scandinavian Brage, the Portuguese Bras, the Portuguese Braz, the Irish Breck, the English and French Brice, the English Brick, the English Brigg, the English Briggs, the Irish Broc, and the English and Irish Brock. Details of famous persons named Bruce: KEY: Pronunciation for Bruce: B as in "be (B.IY)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; UW as in "two (T.UW)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)"   |
