My Name: "Bruce"

Wanting to stray away from my usual postings and talk about something that is not only entirely a new subject to myself, but ultimately interesting, I came up with the idea to write a post about my given name.

So then, how shall we start? Well, how about taking a look at the history of Bruce as a name:

Pronounced:
Brooce/Broose

History:
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix of the Manche département in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland (1274-1329,it has been a Scottish surname since medieval times; it is now a common given name.

The variant Lebrix and Le Brix are French variations of the surname.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.org, naturally.

Why I Was Named "Bruce"?
According to my father (who has "Bruce" as a middle name), my mother was absolutely determined for me to be named such. The action that fueled the determination? I'm afraid I haven't a clue.

Alternate Surname Spellings:
BRUYS, BRUSE, DE BRUYS

Definition:
From Bruy or Bruys, a place in Normandy where the family originated, 2) Fom the Old French meaning "brushwood thicket."

Courtesy of genealogy.about.com

Origins:
Scottish, Celtic, Old French & English

Name Meaning:
"Woods", "Thicket", "Thick Brush"

Peak Popularity:
"Bruce" is a name which was endured great popularity through both the 40's and 50's, but has steadily dropped off the the popularity list. As a result, it is most certainly a name you're likely to come across very often.

What Others Think of the Name "Bruce"?
As it's popularity has since long died, "Bruce" is definitely not a name which is liked by many. On Facebook, my name was rated with a hotness level of just 27% (absolutely terrible), meanwhile some 2700 voters on babynames.com have rated it with an average of 3 out of 5. In short, "Bruce" is not a name which others view as being sexy or cool.

Pop Culture:

Musicians:
Bruce Dickinson (lead singer of Iron Maiden); Bruce Springsteen

Actors:
Bruce Campbell; Bruce Greenwood; Bruce Forsyth; Bruce Willis; Bruce Lee; Bruce McCulloch

Fictional Characters:
Bruce Banner (alter ego of the Incredible Hulk); Bruce Wayne (the alter ego of Batman)

Locations:
Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
Bruce, Mississippi, U.S.
Bruce, Wisconsin, U.S.
Bruce County, Ontario, Canada
Bruce Crossing, Michigan, U.S.
Bruce Trail, a trail in Ontario, Canada
Division of Bruce, Victoria, Australia

Miscellanea:
Bruce (crater), in the Moon
A type of anchor

All Courtesy yet again of Wikipedia.org

Personal Thoughts:

Frankly, I always thought my name was pretty cool because of it's rarity. However, It would my appear that assumptions regarding such are completely incorrect. It's lack of popularity means that it's a name which isn't desirable to most.

Oh well. What can you do? At least Bruce Willis is kick ass. On the other hand, Willis' real given-name is actually "Walter"...