The Ponce surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 49,549 people carried this name — #695 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 5,950 people counted. That is up 40% from 35,400 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Ponce surname
First attested in 1646. The surname is from the medieval personal name Ponce, ultimately from Latin Pontius. The city is named after Spanish administrator Juan Ponce de León y Loayza.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Ponce» (Spanish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 102,331 people named Ponce 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.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 1,062 people named Ponce.
167 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 70 départements, most often Paris.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
186 people named Ponce live in Switzerland.
They live in 14 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 26 people named Ponce live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Luxembourg Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
59 people named Ponce is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Ponce in American newspapers,
1898–1899.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 258,037 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Ponce,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Pedro Ponce y Carrasco 1706–1775 · Catholic priest -
Nicolas Ponce 1746–1831 · writer -
Lorenzo Ponce 1824–1908 -
Generoso Ponce 1852–1911 · politician -
Mariano Ponce 1863–1918 · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 234 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Ponce.
- Pomier 179 · U.S. census
- Pommier 595 · U.S. census
- Pompa 4,217 · U.S. census
- Pompei 563 · U.S. census
- Pompey 2,473 · U.S. census
- Pon 1,419 · U.S. census
- Poncelet 307 · U.S. census
- Poncet 118 · U.S. census
- Poncin 196 · U.S. census
- Poncy 108 · U.S. census
- Pone 509 · U.S. census
- Pons 2,384 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Ponce 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.