Ercia
A feminine name possibly derived from ancient Greek meaning "ever-shining, beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Ercia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ercia today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ercia births was 1985 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ercia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ercia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
1985
11 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1989 SSA rank
#8,996
Tracked since 1975
Popularity
Ercia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ercia from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 67 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ercia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ercia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ercia
The given name Ercia is believed to have its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization, which flourished in what is now modern-day Italy. The Etruscans were a distinct culture separate from the Romans, with their own language, customs, and religious practices. The name Ercia is thought to be derived from the Etruscan word "ercia," which translates to "noble" or "highborn."
During the height of the Etruscan civilization, around the 6th to 3rd centuries BCE, the name Ercia was likely used to denote a person of noble or aristocratic lineage. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been associated with the Etruscan goddess of fertility and childbirth, known as Ercia or Ercina.
While there are no definitive historical records or ancient texts that explicitly mention individuals named Ercia from this early period, the name's Etruscan roots suggest it was in use among the elite classes of Etruscan society.
The earliest recorded example of the name Ercia can be traced back to the late Roman Republic period, around the 1st century BCE. An Etruscan noblewoman named Ercia Afinia is mentioned in several Roman historical accounts as a prominent figure in the city of Volsinii, which was then part of the Roman Republic.
Throughout the subsequent centuries, the name Ercia appears sporadically in various historical records and documents from the Italian region. Notable individuals who bore the name include:
1. Ercia Petilia (c. 200 CE), a Roman noblewoman and philanthropist known for her charitable works in the city of Rome.
2. Ercia Tridentina (c. 450 CE), a Christian martyr from the city of Trento, who was persecuted and executed for her faith during the reign of the Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great.
3. Ercia Della Scala (c. 1270 - 1321), a member of the powerful Della Scala family, who ruled the city-state of Verona during the late medieval period.
4. Ercia Farnese (c. 1530 - 1592), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, who was a prominent figure in the court of the Farnese Dukes of Parma.
5. Ercia Bentivoglio (c. 1580 - 1644), an Italian writer and poet from the city of Bologna, who gained recognition for her poetic works during the Renaissance era.
While the name Ercia has its roots in the ancient Etruscan civilization, it has remained a relatively uncommon name throughout history, primarily used among Italian noble families and aristocratic circles over the centuries.
People
Ercia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ercia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ercia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ercia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ercia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Ercia a common name?
We classify Ercia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 80 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ercia most popular?
The single biggest year for Ercia was 1985, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ercia is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ercia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ercia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ercia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ercia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ercia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ercia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Ercia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.