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Pierce Family History

Pierce Surname Meaning

English Welsh and Irish: from the Anglo-Norman French and Middle English personal name Piers Peres Peris an Old French nominative of Pierre or Per the French form of Peter.

Pierce is especially frequent in northwestern Wales and Lancashire while Pearce is the more common spelling in the rest of England.

In Ireland Pierce and Pearse represent a shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Piarais ‘son of Piaras’ a Gaelicized form of Piers.

Americanized form of some similar-sounding Jewish surname.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: 

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Where is the Pierce family from?

You can see how Pierce families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Pierce family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Pierce families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 618 Pierce families living in New York. This was about 23% of all the recorded Pierce's in USA. New York had the highest population of Pierce families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Pierce surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Pierce ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Housewife were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Pierce. 16% of Pierce men worked as a Laborer and 7% of Pierce women worked as a Housewife. Some less common occupations for Americans named Pierce were Truck Driver and Maid.

View Census Data for Pierce | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    16%
  • Farmer
    15%
  • Salesman
    5%
  • Truck Driver
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Housewife
    7%
  • Housekeeper
    7%
  • Teacher
    6%
  • Maid
    6%

What Pierce family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 693,000 census records available for the last name Pierce. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Pierce census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Pierce

Passenger Lists

There are 58,000 immigration records available for the last name Pierce. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Pierce immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 150,000 military records available for the last name Pierce. For the veterans among your Pierce ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Pierce military records

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