No harm intended, but I feel that the name ‘Bruce’ has a nerdy or wimpy connotation. However, there are only macho Bruce’s that I can name: Bruce Lee, Bruce Willis, Bruce Springsteen, and Bruce Wayne. Can anyone think of any famous nerdy or wimpy Bruce’s that would have fostered nerdy image of the name ‘Bruce’?
[ul]
[li]Bruce Jenner - 1976 Olympic Decathalon Gold Medalist[/li][li]Bruce Banner - Human identity of The Incredible Hulk (renamed David Bruce Banner for the TV show because, like you feel, TV execs thought Bruce was a wimpy name.[/li][li]Hi, Opal![/li][/ul]
Heres a macho bruce: Bruce Campbell,star of the Evil Dead series.
Don’t forget the Philosophical Bruces. Are they nerdy or macho?
You know, the guy that caved and sold out William Wallace in Braveheart (note: I have no actual knowledge of that period, I just like the movie)
This is just a WAG. Probably there is little to connect the real Earl of Bruce with the Hollywoodized version. However, I like to think that the big picture was true. Maybe Bruce is a wimpy name because this character did not stand up for what he believed at an important time.
Bruce the Conqueror, of course (anyone get the reference? 
)
There’s also Bruce D’Archangelis, but that’s even more obscure (though at least 16,000 people must have heard of him). 
This isn’t really a factual question, since things like “macho” and “wimpy” aren’t well-defined. I’m moving it over to our In My Humble Opinion forum, where it should feel more at home.
I think he means Robert The Bruce, who WAS fictionalized for Braveheart. I recommend the book Robert The Bruce by Ronald McNair Scott.
Don’t always trust Hollywood, folks. There’s other information out there.
Other non nerdy Bruces…Bruce Dern?
Dunno 'bout all that, but I do know that in the 70’s the name “Bruce” was strongly associated with homosexuality for some reason. (Maybe just because of the way “Bruce” sounds when uttered with a lisp. Who knows?) Any time there was a joke about homosexuality or homosexuals, the name “Bruce” was likely to pop up. (Which probably explains the reluctance of 70’s TV execs to have “Bruce Banner” be the alter-ego of the Incredible Hulk.)
Another Bruce: Bruce the Shark (the on-the-set nickname of the rubberized shark used in the film Jaws).
In connection with the stereotypical homosexuality thing, I remember somebody doing a parody of Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John” as “Big Bad Brucie-Woosie”. The connection existed well back into the 60’s, and I suspect long before. Where that connection came from is, I think, a legitimate question, and they were a bit quick on the trigger to move this out of GQ. Oh well.
Two words:* The Burbs.* Bruce Dern was so much the man in that movie.
(F Giddy-Pig.)
My name is Bruce and I’ll whip all of yer asses!
On a serious note, about a month before my dad died, he apologized for naming me Bruce. He said at the time (I was born in 1960) it was a very masculine name. He honestly felt bad for me. I was able to assure him that nobody had ever had the balls to give me any grief over it. That was a lie, but nobody ever gave me any grief twice.
I’d like to think I’m cool, but I’m not. I’m a nerd. I’m overweight, losing my hair, glasses, advanced degree in Statistics, work behind a desk all day. Yep, nerd. All I need is some tape on my glasses.
Sometimes I stand next to people named Norman just to look cool by comparison. sigh
Interesting. That suggests that the association is comparitively recent. Since it was VERY well established in the late 60’s and 70’s, I wonder what triggered it. Was there a portrayal of some swishy character named Bruce in a popular sitcom of the time?