How to say it
ACE
/eɪs/
Masculine
Ace
Number one, expert
What it means
From the Latin as (a unit, a coin) via Old French, then the playing-card meaning ('the one'). English by extension means 'top expert.' Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey, 1994) and Ace of Base anchor different generations.
Ace comes from the Latin as (a small Roman coin, 'a unit'), through Old French as. By the medieval period it meant 'the one' on a die or playing card; by the 17th century it carried the figurative sense of 'expert' (an ace pilot, an ace mechanic). As a given name Ace is modern American: rare before the 2000s, then climbing. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Jim Carrey, 1994), Ace of Base (the Swedish pop group), and the WWE's Ace Steel each pull in different directions. It entered the US top 500 in 2018. Single syllable, no shorter form.
Popularity over time
peaked at #152 in 2022, currently #164 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey, 1994) is the dominant Gen-X anchor; Ace of Base the 1990s Swedish pop group gives the second cultural cue.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Ace Ventura Jim Carrey's pet detective character, 1994
Spelling variants
- Acer
- Ase