Lacey began as an English surname brought by the Normans from Lassy in Normandy, though most parents today hear the word lace in it and read the name as "lace" or "lacy", delicate and pretty. It became a girls' name in the 1970s alongside Casey and Stacey. Lacey ranked number 371 in 2000 and has been drifting downward since; it stands at number 738 in 2025.