Princessa
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "noble lady" or "princess".
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Princessa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Princessa today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Princessa births was 2004 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Princessa. 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
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
2004
37 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2014 SSA rank
#16,077
Tracked since 1979
Census
Princessa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 186 people with the first name Princessa, which placed it at #40,168 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
#40,168
National first-name rank
People counted
186
186 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
72.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Princessa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Princessa is Hispanic at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). 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 Princessa 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 Princessa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino72.6% · 135
- Black or African American16.1% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 8
- White3.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 4
- Two or more races1.1% · 2
Popularity
Princessa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Princessa from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 116 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
Princessa 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 Princessa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Princessas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Princessa
The name Princessa has its origins in the Portuguese and Spanish languages, derived from the Latin word "princeps," meaning "first" or "chief." It was originally a title used to refer to a female member of a royal or princely family, particularly the daughter of a monarch or sovereign ruler.
In the Middle Ages, the name Princessa was widely used among the nobility and royalty across Europe, especially in Portugal, Spain, and their respective colonies. It was a prestigious name that symbolized wealth, power, and high social status.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Princessa can be found in the historical chronicles of the Portuguese royal court during the 14th century. It was common for princesses and daughters of kings to bear the name Princessa as a way of asserting their noble lineage.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Princessa. One of the most famous was Princessa Isabel (1397-1472), the daughter of King John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster. She played a significant role in the political and cultural affairs of her time and was renowned for her patronage of the arts and learning.
Another prominent figure was Princessa Catalina de Aragón (1485-1536), the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. Born a Spanish princess, she was highly educated and influential during her reign as Queen of England.
In the 17th century, Princessa Maria Anna of Spain (1606-1646), the daughter of King Philip III, was an influential figure in the Spanish court and known for her involvement in the arts and literature.
During the 18th century, Princessa Maria Amalia of Saxony (1724-1760), the daughter of King Augustus III of Poland and Elector of Saxony, was a notable patron of the arts and a prominent figure in the cultural life of Dresden.
In the 19th century, Princessa Alix of Hesse and by Rhine (1872-1918), who later became Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia as the wife of Tsar Nicholas II, was a significant historical figure during the final years of the Romanov dynasty.
While the name Princessa originated from the upper echelons of society, it has since been adopted by people from various backgrounds, reflecting the enduring appeal and prestige associated with this regal moniker.
People
Princessa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Princessa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Princessa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Princessa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Princessa 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 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Princessa a common name?
We classify Princessa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 167 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Princessa most popular?
The single biggest year for Princessa was 2004, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Princessa is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Princessa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 186 people with the name Princessa, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,168 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 Princessa 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 Princessa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Princessa leans strongly female. 180 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 4 male bearers (2.2%). 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 Princessa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Princessa is Hispanic at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). 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 Princessa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Princessa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.6% (135 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 Princessa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Princessa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Princessa 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 Princessa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Princessa 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 Princessa 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 have the name Princessa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.