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Girl · North African, through Latin
Monica
Say it: MON-ih-kuh
Meaning
Uncertain, possibly of Punic or Berber origin; links to Greek monos 'alone' or Latin monere 'to advise' are folk etymologies.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Rare until the 19th century, then widespread in Catholic and Protestant countries in the 20th century.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1970s
In the United States
- 250,256 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1973, about 1 in 229 girls
- 395 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
Early ChristianEnglishFrenchSpanishItalianGermanPolishHungarian
The family of the name
Other spellings: Monika
| French | Monique |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Mónica |
| Italian | Monica |
| Portuguese | Mônica |
| German | Monika |
| Polish | Monika |
| Hungarian | Mónika |
Famous bearers
- Monica of Hippo, mother of Augustine
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
- Calendars of saints and name days
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.