Luce surname: meaning, census count and records | FamilyCrests

The Luce surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,704 people carried this name — #3,672 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 30,400 people counted. That is up 2% from 9,489 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Luce surname

A surname transferred from the given name.

Probably a patronymic surname from a variant of Luca, or a matronymic surname from a variant of Lucia.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Luce» (Italian), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 1,911 people named Luce.

30 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 79 départements, most often Seine-Maritime.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 30
Seine-Maritime 236
Paris 219
Manche 188
Guadeloupe 185
Yvelines 104
Nord 91
Martinique 81
Aisne 74

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 127 people named Luce live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 115
Neuquén 12

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

37 people named Luce live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 16
Geneva 13
Bern 5
Solothurn 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In print

Luce in American newspapers,
1888–1918.

Newspaper page from The True Northerner carrying the name Luce
The True Northerner 1888-11-07
Newspaper page from Perth Amboy Evening News carrying the name Luce
Perth Amboy Evening News 1918-09-25
Newspaper page from The Scranton Tribune carrying the name Luce
The Scranton Tribune 1894-12-19

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 372,201 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Luce,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Johann von Luce
    Johann von Luce 1756–1842 · writer
  • Jean-Charles-Julien Luce de Lancival
    Jean-Charles-Julien Luce de Lancival 1764–1810 · writer
  • Emmavail Luce d. 1985
  • John Luce 1301–1370 · Catholic priest
  • Giovanni Luce 1501–1600 · painter
  • Lucas Luce 1576–1661 · painter

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Luce.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Luce is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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