Pierce

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ORIGIN AND HISTORY

The name Pierce is of Greek origin and means "stone."^[1] It is a variation of Piers, which is itself a variation of Peter.^[1] Pierce was a given name first, and then was transferred to a surname, possibly as a patronymic.^[1] People with the surname Pierce are likely to be of English, Irish or Welsh ancestry, though it is possible that similar-sounding Jewish surnames were changed to Pierce when the family arrived in America.^[1]

House of Names traces the Pierce family back to the Somerset region of England, and quotes the names of several Pierces in the New World by the seventeenth century.^[1]

POPULARITY

Pierce was a fairly popular boy's name in the United States during the late 19th and early twentieth centuries, but it dropped off of the top 1000 chart between 1940 and 1984. In 2007, Pierce ranked at number 487.^[1]

Pierce is also a top 1000 name in a few other countries, ranking as high as 254 in Australia and 304 in Canada in 1999.^[1]

According to WhitePages.com, Pierce ranks as the 175th most common surname in the United States. The highest concentration of people with the last name Pierce is in Texas, followed by California, Florida and North Carolina.^[1]

FACTS

• When Britney Spears gave birth to her second son, Jayden James, the media was led to believe that the child would be named Sutton Pierce.^[1]
• Barbara Bush's maiden name was Pierce.^[1]
• Pierce Brosnan named his son Dylan Thomas. Though this is the name of a famous Welsh poet and author, Brosnan's son is not the wordsmith's namesake: Brosnan and his wife chose the name Dylan simply because they liked it, and the name Thomas because it is the name of both of their fathers.^[1]

NAMESAKES

• Pierce Biotechnology
• Pierce Manufacturing
• Pierce College, California
• Pierce Transit: Tacoma, Washington public transportation
• Pierce County, Nebraska
• Pierce County, Washington
• Pierce County, Wisconsin
• Pierce Township, Ohio
• Pierce, Idaho
• Pierce, Colorado
• Mount Pierce, New Hampshire
• Pierce's Disease: a plant disease particularly affecting grape vineyards^[1]

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Pierce Brosnan: actor
• Pierce Butler: U.S. politician, one of the founding fathers (born July 11, 1744)
• David Hyde Pierce: actor (born April 3, 1959)
• Franklin Pierce: 14th U.S. President (born 1904)
• Tamora Pierce: fantasy author (born December 13, 1954)
• Wendell Pierce: actor (born December 8, 1962)

OTHER PIERCE'S

Pierce Abercrombie, Pierce Adkins, Pierce Akers, Pierce Albert, Pierce Albright, Pierce Alexander, Pierce Allen, Pierce Allgood, Pierce Amber, Pierce Andria, Pierce Ang, Pierce Anstis, Pierce Arlana, Pierce Armentrout, Pierce Armstrong, Pierce Arthur, Pierce Asbury, Pierce Ashley, Pierce Atkins, Pierce Babirak, Pierce Badola, Pierce Baek, Pierce Bahnsen, Pierce Baker, Pierce Banonis, Pierce Abbott, Pierce Abernethy, Pierce Adams, Pierce Adele, Pierce Akin, Pierce Alderman, Pierce Allman, Pierce Aly, Pierce Aman, Pierce Anderson, Pierce Andrews, Pierce Angela, Pierce Anson, Pierce Arner, Pierce Ashlie, Pierce Atwater, Pierce Austin, Pierce Avalon, Pierce Baier, Pierce Bailey, Pierce Baldwin, Pierce Ables, Pierce Alston, Pierce Ann, Pierce Archer, More results

Author: Sarena Emily Levinson

NOTES

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce