Lace

♀ Girl

Pronounced LAYSS /ˈleɪs/High

Meaning: Lace is a short, one-syllable form of Lacey, an English surname that came from Lassy, a place in Normandy, and was carried to England after the Conquest. The clipped form also plainly evokes the English word lace, the fine openwork fabric, which gives it a soft, pretty connotation. Both the surname heritage and the fabric image sit behind it.Low

In 30 seconds: Lace is a short form of Lacey, an English surname name, that also echoes the delicate fabric. It saw brief use around the late 1980s and stayed rare (said LAYSS).

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Origin LowEnglish, French

MeaningLace is a short, one-syllable form of Lacey, an English surname that came from Lassy, a place in Normandy, and was carried to England after the Conquest. The clipped form also plainly evokes the English word lace, the fine openwork fabric, which gives it a soft, pretty connotation. Both the surname heritage and the fabric image sit behind it.

U.S. rank (2024)#16542 ↘ Falling

2024 U.S. births5 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1988

Total births (all-time)≈ 417

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Lace is most naturally read as a shortened form of Lacey, a surname turned given name. Lacey descends from the Norman place name Lassy and arrived in England as a family name before drifting into first-name use, mainly for girls in the twentieth century. Clipping it to Lace produces a crisp, single-syllable name that leans on the pleasant image of the fabric. Word-names of this soft kind saw modest fashion in the 1980s.

Lace never became common. Only a few dozen girls a year were given it around its faint late-1980s high point, and it has appeared only sparingly since, though it has never fully vanished. A girl named Lace then would be in her mid-thirties today. It reads as a delicate, minimalist choice, and its meaning rests on Lacey and on the fabric it names.

Did you know? Lace reads two ways at once: as a trimmed form of the surname-name Lacey and as the airy fabric itself, a rare example of a name that is also an everyday word for something pretty.

Overall data confidence 50%

References - Lace / Lacey — Norman place name Lassy; short form; fabric word association

Variations

LaceyLacyLacieLaycee

Nicknames

LaceyLulu

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If you like Lace…

Lacey— the fuller name Lace shortens, same surname roots and sound

Lacy— a close sister spelling of the same name

Macey— a similar soft surname-style girls' name of the same era

Gracie— shares the sweet, delicate one-word charm

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Lace mean?

Lace is a short form of Lacey, an English surname name, and also echoes the delicate fabric of the same name.

How do you pronounce Lace?

It is said LAYSS /ˈleɪs/ - one syllable, rhyming with 'face'.

Is Lace a boy or girl name?

Lace is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Lace?

Lace has always been very rare, a short and delicate form of the more familiar Lacey.