One of the gang on MTV’s Real World this year is named “Ace”. A couple of days ago, I also saw a guy named “Ace” on Singled Out.
Questions:
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Is “Ace” a real name, or is it just a common nickname?
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If it’s real, how common is it?
OK viewers, raise your hands if you thought this was about Sophie Aldred.
I thought it was about Rimmer, Arnold J. 
I had to open the thread to find out what the hell it was about.
I think Ace must be the name of that guy that’s driving the convertible in the Fram commercial. “Thanks, Junior!”
There’s someone is my accounting class called Ace. But I doubt that it’s a very common name.
Nice one, Nanoda! 
I have met two old guys of the WW II-veteran generation named Asa, and both were called Ace. I knew a high school band director named Don, whose friends called him Ace. I have an old friend who occasionally calls me Ace, especially if he’s asking my opinion (many others have called me an ass, but that’s another story.) That’s a pretty short list, and it goes all the way back to 1949.
So, elmwood, I’d say no, it’s not a common name.
Ace Frehley of Kiss was the second “Paul” to be in the group. Supposedly, they said, “We already have a ‘Paul.’ You need to pick something else.”
Back in the 1970s I worked one summer in a federal records center where I proofread names and serial numbers all day.
I quickly learned that it is not at all common for parents to give a child a nickname as their actual name. There are a fair number of men named Al, Buzz, A.J., etc.
If you do a Google search on “Census Bureau” and “name frequency”, you will find a site which provides information on how often different names appeared in the 1990 U. S. Census.
A search for “Ace” as a first name showed that there were no records found. A search of “Junior”, by contrast, showed that it was the 532nd most common name for men.
My guess is that there are some men with the given name Ace, but they are very, very few in number.
I can only think of one Ace I’ve known personally. His real name was William.
There are only 4 of them.
Spades…
Hearts…
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Ow! Ow! Stop hitting me!
If you access the Social Securiy Death Index, you’ll discover that there are 711 people with the first name of “Ace” who are dead. Now, this only implies that they filled out their original SS application with the first name “Ace”, but many of them had that as their name.
The birth dates of the people in the Death Index range from about the 1889’s to the 1940’s, with sprinkling in the 1950’s. Obviously, many people born in the 1940-50’s haven’t died yet.
But if you just assume that the 700+ people represent 70 years of deaths, then there are about 10 people per year who potentially could have the actual name “Ace.”
The only Ace I’ve ever heard of was Kiefer Sutherland in Stand By Me.
I play pool with a guy named Ace. He’s of Portuguese descent, and his real name is something like “Acacio.” So Ace is a shortened form of that, much like “Rich” for “Richard.”
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Actually, I do know one person named Ace. He’s a toddler, and his mom wanted to name him after his grandfather, Asa. However, they have a VERY “wimpy” last name, so she gave him a name similar to “Asa” that she perceives as very masculine.
And my name is, in fact, Tom.
I had a roomate named Ace. But really it was short for Acevedo, his last name.
I knew someone (the founder of a company I worked for) who named one of his sons “Ace”. Not short for or substituting for any other name, AFAIK. Ace also has a younger brother, Mars (short for Marsden).