Morelia
A feminine name of Greek origin referring to the Greek city of Morea.
Name Census estimates that about 739 living Americans carry the first name Morelia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Morelia today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Morelia births was 1996 (66 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Morelia. 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.
People living today
739
~ 1 in 463,808 Americans
Peak year
1996
66 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,251
Tracked since 1995
Census
Morelia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 881 people with the first name Morelia, which placed it at #13,631 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
#13,631
National first-name rank
People counted
881
881 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Morelia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Morelia is Hispanic at 97.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Black (0.6%). 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 Morelia 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 Morelia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.3% · 857
- White1.2% · 11
- Black or African American0.6% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 5
- Two or more races0.3% · 3
Popularity
Morelia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Morelia from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 411 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Morelia 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 Morelia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Morelias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Morelia, while Washington, Illinois, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 80 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Morelia
The name Morelia is derived from the Latin word "morus," which means "mulberry tree." Its origins can be traced back to ancient Rome, where it was used as a surname for families associated with the cultivation or trade of mulberries.
In the Middle Ages, Morelia was occasionally used as a feminine given name in certain regions of Italy and Spain. It was particularly popular in areas known for silk production, as mulberry leaves were essential for feeding silkworms.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Morelia as a first name can be found in a 13th-century Italian manuscript, where a woman named Morelia di Firenze was mentioned as a respected silk merchant from Florence.
During the Renaissance period, Morelia gained popularity among the upper classes in Italy and Spain. It was often chosen as a name for daughters born into families involved in the silk trade or those with close ties to the mulberry tree.
In the 16th century, a Spanish noblewoman named Morelia de Aragón (1523-1589) became renowned for her philanthropic efforts and support of educational institutions for underprivileged children.
Another notable individual with this name was the Italian botanist Morelia Bianchi (1670-1738), who authored several influential works on the cultivation and classification of mulberry trees.
In the 19th century, Morelia Carrillo (1815-1891) was a prominent Mexican educator and advocate for women's rights. She founded several schools and worked tirelessly to improve educational opportunities for girls in her country.
Morelia was also the name of an Italian painter, Morelia Gentileschi (1593-1653), who achieved recognition for her Baroque-style artwork and became one of the first female artists to gain membership in the prestigious Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence.
Despite its historical significance and usage, the name Morelia has remained relatively uncommon in most parts of the world. However, it continues to be celebrated for its connection to the mulberry tree, which holds cultural and economic importance in various regions.
People
Morelia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Morelia 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
Morelia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Morelia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 739 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Morelia 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 463,808 US residents.
Is Morelia a common name?
We classify Morelia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 751 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Morelia most popular?
The single biggest year for Morelia was 1996, when 66 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Morelia is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Morelia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 881 people with the name Morelia, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,631 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 Morelia 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 Morelia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Morelia appears almost entirely female. Of the 885 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Morelia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Morelia is Hispanic at 97.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Black (0.6%). 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 Morelia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Morelia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (857 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 Morelia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Morelia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Morelia 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 Morelia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Morelia 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 Morelia 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 Americans are named Morelia?
Want to know how many people have the name Morelia? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.