Monnica
A feminine name derived from the Latin "Monicus," meaning advisor or counselor.
Name Census estimates that about 61 living Americans carry the first name Monnica. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Monnica today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Monnica births was 1976 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Monnica. 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 Monnica. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
61
~ 1 in 5,618,924 Americans
Peak year
1976
10 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1995 SSA rank
#14,988
Tracked since 1971
Census
Monnica in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 121 people with the first name Monnica, which placed it at #50,149 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#50,149
National first-name rank
People counted
121
121 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Monnica
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monnica is White at 43.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.1%) and Black (21.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Monnica described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Monnica at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.8% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino23.1% · 28
- Black or African American21.5% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.3% · 10
- Two or more races3.3% · 4
Popularity
Monnica: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Monnica from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 37 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Monnica 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 Monnica 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 Monnica
The name Monnica has its origins in Latin and is derived from the word "moneo," which means "to warn" or "to advise." It is believed to have first emerged during the ancient Roman period, around the 3rd or 4th century AD.
One of the earliest and most notable historical references to the name Monnica is in connection with Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo. Saint Monica, born in 331 AD in Tagaste, Algeria, was a devout Christian who is celebrated for her unwavering faith and her role in the eventual conversion of her son to Christianity.
Another early recorded example of the name Monnica can be found in the 5th century, with Monnica Perpetua, a Roman noblewoman and Christian martyr. She was executed for her faith during the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Septimius Severus in the early 3rd century.
In the Middle Ages, the name Monnica was relatively uncommon but still held significance within the Christian tradition. One notable bearer of the name was Monnica of Arles, a 6th-century Frankish nun and abbess who founded the monastery of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains in Metz, France.
During the Renaissance period, the name Monnica gained some popularity, particularly in Italy. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Monnica Gaetani, an Italian noblewoman born in 1456, who was a patron of the arts and a supporter of the humanist movement.
In more recent history, the name Monnica has been less common, but there are still notable individuals who have borne this name. One example is Monnica Terwilliger, an American artist and illustrator born in 1909, known for her work in children's literature and her collaborations with authors like Dr. Seuss.
While the name Monnica may not be as widespread today as it once was, it carries a rich historical legacy rooted in its Latin origins and its association with Christianity and the Roman Empire. Its meaning of "to warn" or "to advise" has given the name a sense of wisdom and guidance throughout the centuries.
People
Monnica + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Monnica as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Monnica: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Monnica?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 61 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Monnica 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 5,618,924 US residents.
Is Monnica a common name?
We classify Monnica as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 66 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Monnica most popular?
The single biggest year for Monnica was 1976, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Monnica is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Monnica in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 121 people with the name Monnica, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,149 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Monnica in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Monnica?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Monnica appears almost entirely female. Of the 123 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Monnica?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monnica is White at 43.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.1%) and Black (21.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Monnica most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Monnica in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.8% (53 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Monnica in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Monnica a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Monnica 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 Monnica still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Monnica 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 Monnica 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.
How many people are called Monnica?
Find out how many people have the name Monnica on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.