Monica
Monica was given to 371 girls in 2025, #737 among girls’ names; 252,257 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 228,000 Americans named Monica and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (90% of everyone recorded); the median is 47 years old and half are between 36 and 57.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Monica by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Monica mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Monica is “a female given name from Latin.”
From Latin Mŏnĭca, name of the mother of St. Augustine, of uncertain meaning but probably Berber or Phoenician origin.
/ˈmɑ.nɪ.kə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Monica?
#737 among girls’ names, 2025
Monica fell from #559 in 2015 to #737 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.31 to 0.23 per 1,000.
6,619 babies in 1979, the peak
Monica peaked in 1979, when 6,619 babies were given it (6,585 girls, #40 among girls’ names). The 371 births of 2025 are 6% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 371 | #737 | 0.23 |
| 2024 | 390 | #724 | 0.24 |
| 2023 | 386 | #729 | 0.24 |
| 2022 | 389 | #744 | 0.24 |
| 2021 | 415 | #695 | 0.25 |
| 2020 | 404 | #697 | 0.25 |
| 2019 | 459 | #638 | 0.27 |
| 2018 | 498 | #608 | 0.29 |
| 2017 | 473 | #626 | 0.27 |
| 2016 | 522 | #587 | 0.29 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 557 | #559 | 0.31 |
| 2014 | 577 | #539 | 0.32 |
| 2013 | 597 | #504 | 0.34 |
| 2012 | 724 | #431 | 0.41 |
| 2011 | 780 | #404 | 0.44 |
| 2010 | 887 | #361 | 0.50 |
| 2009 | 972 | #339 | 0.53 |
| 2008 | 1,064 | #317 | 0.56 |
| 2007 | 1,192 | #285 | 0.62 |
| 2006 | 1,363 | #248 | 0.72 |
| 2005 | 1,409 | #238 | 0.76 |
| 2004 | 1,512 | #225 | 0.82 |
| 2003 | 1,613 | #207 | 0.88 |
| 2002 | 1,778 | #180 | 1.0 |
| 2001 | 1,796 | #182 | 1.0 |
| 2000 | 1,991 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1999 | 2,134 | #151 | 1.2 |
| 1998 | 3,230 | #105 | 1.8 |
| 1997 | 4,223 | #79 | 2.4 |
| 1996 | 4,326 | #82 | 2.5 |
| 1995 | 3,970 | #87 | 2.3 |
| 1994 | 3,912 | #88 | 2.2 |
| 1993 | 3,901 | #86 | 2.2 |
| 1992 | 4,590 | #77 | 2.5 |
| 1991 | 4,156 | #85 | 2.2 |
| 1990 | 4,453 | #76 | 2.3 |
| 1989 | 4,502 | #68 | 2.4 |
| 1988 | 4,463 | #70 | 2.5 |
| 1987 | 4,809 | #64 | 2.8 |
| 1986 | 5,013 | #59 | 2.9 |
| 1985 | 4,990 | #61 | 2.9 |
| 1984 | 5,131 | #58 | 3.0 |
| 1983 | 5,405 | #54 | 3.2 |
| 1982 | 5,734 | #52 | 3.4 |
| 1981 | 5,782 | #49 | 3.5 |
| 1980 | 6,034 | #45 | 3.6 |
| 1979 | 6,585 | #40 | 4.1 |
| 1978 | 5,867 | #42 | 3.8 |
| 1977 | 6,366 | #39 | 4.2 |
| 1976 | 5,978 | #45 | 4.1 |
| 1975 | 5,476 | #49 | 3.8 |
| 1974 | 6,281 | #43 | 4.3 |
| 1973 | 6,380 | #40 | 4.4 |
| 1972 | 6,133 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1971 | 6,426 | #48 | 3.9 |
| 1970 | 6,188 | #56 | 3.5 |
| 1969 | 6,032 | #59 | 3.6 |
| 1968 | 5,221 | #68 | 3.2 |
| 1967 | 4,966 | #70 | 3.0 |
| 1966 | 4,722 | #75 | 2.8 |
| 1965 | 5,113 | #72 | 2.9 |
| 1964 | 4,655 | #90 | 2.5 |
| 1963 | 3,994 | #110 | 2.1 |
| 1962 | 4,010 | #115 | 2.0 |
| 1961 | 3,391 | #136 | 1.7 |
| 1960 | 3,088 | #140 | 1.5 |
| 1959 | 2,594 | #160 | 1.3 |
| 1958 | 2,414 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1957 | 2,491 | #151 | 1.2 |
| 1956 | 2,162 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1955 | 1,817 | #182 | 0.93 |
| 1954 | 1,823 | #181 | 0.94 |
| 1953 | 1,600 | #193 | 0.85 |
| 1952 | 1,464 | #197 | 0.79 |
| 1951 | 1,298 | #209 | 0.72 |
| 1950 | 1,059 | #231 | 0.62 |
| 1949 | 826 | #266 | 0.48 |
| 1948 | 847 | #262 | 0.50 |
| 1947 | 615 | #311 | 0.35 |
| 1946 | 457 | #355 | 0.29 |
| 1945 | 400 | #339 | 0.31 |
| 1944 | 342 | #383 | 0.26 |
| 1943 | 299 | #426 | 0.21 |
| 1942 | 325 | #398 | 0.24 |
| 1941 | 261 | #425 | 0.22 |
| 1940 | 285 | #409 | 0.25 |
| 1939 | 256 | #425 | 0.23 |
| 1938 | 269 | #409 | 0.24 |
| 1937 | 292 | #380 | 0.27 |
| 1936 | 273 | #387 | 0.26 |
| 1935 | 332 | #352 | 0.32 |
| 1934 | 259 | #407 | 0.25 |
| 1933 | 213 | #440 | 0.21 |
| 1932 | 215 | #451 | 0.20 |
| 1931 | 192 | #468 | 0.18 |
| 1930 | 168 | #522 | 0.15 |
| 1929 | 182 | #500 | 0.16 |
| 1928 | 218 | #467 | 0.19 |
| 1927 | 189 | #512 | 0.16 |
| 1926 | 190 | #507 | 0.16 |
| 1925 | 198 | #500 | 0.16 |
| 1924 | 223 | #467 | 0.18 |
| 1923 | 199 | #494 | 0.16 |
| 1922 | 206 | #480 | 0.17 |
| 1921 | 247 | #434 | 0.20 |
| 1920 | 215 | #462 | 0.18 |
| 1919 | 178 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1918 | 223 | #444 | 0.19 |
| 1917 | 252 | #399 | 0.23 |
| 1916 | 278 | #373 | 0.27 |
| 1915 | 196 | #437 | 0.20 |
| 1914 | 156 | #439 | 0.20 |
| 1913 | 164 | #378 | 0.26 |
| 1912 | 130 | #409 | 0.23 |
| 1911 | 83 | #449 | 0.20 |
| 1910 | 79 | #454 | 0.20 |
| 1909 | 71 | #441 | 0.20 |
| 1908 | 62 | #460 | 0.19 |
| 1907 | 61 | #460 | 0.19 |
| 1906 | 52 | #475 | 0.18 |
| 1905 | 53 | #470 | 0.18 |
| 1904 | 54 | #441 | 0.20 |
| 1903 | 36 | #547 | 0.14 |
| 1902 | 33 | #581 | 0.12 |
| 1901 | 44 | #450 | 0.18 |
| 1900 | 39 | #553 | 0.13 |
| 1899 | 30 | #561 | 0.13 |
| 1898 | 41 | #482 | 0.16 |
| 1897 | 34 | #504 | 0.15 |
| 1896 | 36 | #496 | 0.15 |
| 1895 | 20 | #719 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 22 | #639 | 0.10 |
| 1893 | 25 | #566 | 0.12 |
| 1892 | 27 | #537 | 0.13 |
| 1891 | 25 | #519 | 0.13 |
| 1890 | 17 | #661 | 0.09 |
| 1889 | 14 | #710 | 0.08 |
| 1888 | 13 | #744 | 0.07 |
| 1887 | 13 | #652 | 0.09 |
| 1886 | 10 | #759 | 0.07 |
| 1885 | 10 | #728 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 8 | #833 | 0.06 |
| 1883 | 5 | #1,008 | 0.04 |
| 1881 | 10 | #572 | 0.11 |
| 1880 | 6 | #813 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Monica a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Monica has been given almost only to girls: 983 boys in 145 years of records.
Girls and boys named Monica: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Monica, and how old are they?
228,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 90% of the 252,257 Americans ever recorded as Monica. The median Monica alive today is 47 years old; half are between 36 and 57.
The 2020 Census counted 264,966 people named Monica (264,611 women and girls, 355 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 231,569 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,570 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 33,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 87,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 73,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 26,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 6,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Monica born?
The states with the most babies named Monica are California, Texas and New York, with 37% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 46,330 | #554 | 1.6× |
| Texas | 31,382 | #709 | 1.7× |
| New York | 14,503 | #1,389 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 12,795 | #653 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 10,074 | #1,081 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 9,911 | #781 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 8,587 | #551 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 8,576 | #1,356 | 0.8× |
| New Jersey | 6,128 | #605 | 0.8× |
| Louisiana | 5,339 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Monica is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Monica is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Monica with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 263,233 babies since 1880, Monica is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 371 of their 389 babies (95%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Monica
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Monica and names like it
- Compare Monica and MonikaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sMonica peaked in 1979.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Monica since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Monica: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1979The year the most babies were named Monica.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Monica alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with MMost given first.