Pace
A surname that can come from an Easter name or from a place name, especially in England and Normandy.
The #868 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,742 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname has more than one plausible source. In English records it is often linked to the old baptismal or holiday name Pace, a form associated with Easter and the church feast season, alongside related forms such as Pash and Pask. Other writers connect it with Norman place names like Pacy in Normandy, or with Anglo-French pace meaning a track, path, or passage.
History
The name is well attested in medieval English records, and later writers treated Pace as both a personal-name surname and a possible locational surname. Bardsley notes that Easter-egg customs in northern England were still called pace-egging, reflecting the older holiday association. The surname also appears in Norman-linked forms such as Paige, and related variants like Pacey and Pacy.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In parts of northern England, Easter eggs were historically called pace-eggs, a clue to the surname’s holiday-name background.
From the historical record
“PACE (A.-Lat.-Gr.-Heb.), a variant of Pa(i)8h. q.v. William Pace.— r^to de Nevill. Easter-eggs are still called pace-eggs in the North of England. (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Bel. to Pas (France) ; or Dweller at a Pas% or Track [A.-Fr. pace,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)