Bunce
Usually an English surname that seems to be a shortened or altered form of Bunn, with some older writers also connecting it to the medieval French nickname le bon, “the good.”
The #8,023 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 74,829 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Bunce is generally treated as a variant or altered spelling of Bunn, with the final -ce reflecting a common English spelling change found in surnames. Some older scholarship also suggests an alternative link with Middle English le bon, a nickname meaning “the good,” which may have helped shape forms like Bunce and Bunn. In either case, the name is likely nickname-based rather than occupational or locational.
History
English surname dictionaries note Bunce as a historical spelling variant, and they compare its form to names such as Dance for Dans and Pearce for Piers. The name is found in English records from at least the 17th century, especially in southern English documentation. Later references in surname reference works treat it as part of the Bunn/Bunce family of forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A few old surname books explicitly say Bunce is to Bunn what Dance is to Dans—a spelling reshaping rather than a wholly separate name.
From the historical record
“WnJlinfton: 8l Geo. Han. Sq. Bunce is for Bunns as Ellice for Ellis, Dance for Dans, or Evance for Evans. Waller Bana. co. Oif., 117*. A.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances