Capricia
A feminine name derived from the Latin word "capricius," meaning whimsical or capricious.
Name Census estimates that about 247 living Americans carry the first name Capricia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Capricia today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Capricia births was 1991 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Capricia. 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
247
~ 1 in 1,387,669 Americans
Peak year
1991
19 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1997 SSA rank
#11,054
Tracked since 1966
Census
Capricia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 263 people with the first name Capricia, which placed it at #32,158 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
#32,158
National first-name rank
People counted
263
263 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Capricia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Capricia is Black at 71.5%. The next largest groups are White (18.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Capricia 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 Capricia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.5% · 188
- White18.6% · 49
- Two or more races4.2% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 3
Popularity
Capricia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Capricia from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 94 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Capricia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Capricia 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 Capricia 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 Capricia
The name Capricia is a unique and intriguing one, with a rich history that spans several cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to the Latin language, where the word "capra" means "goat." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who tended or worked with goats, perhaps a shepherd or farmer.
In the ancient Roman world, the name Capricia was sometimes used as a feminine form of the masculine name Capricius. While not widely documented, there are a few historical references to individuals bearing this name. One notable example is Capricia Valentia, a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 2nd century AD and was known for her patronage of the arts.
As the Roman Empire spread its influence across Europe, the name Capricia likely traveled with it. In medieval times, it appears to have been particularly popular in certain regions of Italy and France, where it may have been associated with pastoral or rural life.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Capricia was a 12th-century Italian noblewoman named Capricia di Monferrato, who was known for her charitable works and her support of the local monastery. Another notable figure was Capricia de Beaumont, a 13th-century French courtier and poet who wrote several works celebrating the ideals of courtly love.
In the Renaissance era, the name Capricia gained a more whimsical and playful connotation. In 16th-century Italy, there was a famous courtesan named Capricia Veneziana, who was known for her wit and charm, as well as her beauty. She was celebrated in the writings of several notable poets and playwrights of the time.
Another fascinating figure was Capricia di Sanseverino, a 17th-century Italian noblewoman who was renowned for her skill in horsemanship and her love of adventure. She was known to dress in men's clothing and participate in daring equestrian feats, earning her the nickname "the Lady Cavalier."
As the name Capricia spread across Europe, it also found its way to other parts of the world through exploration and colonization. In the 18th century, there was a Capricia de la Cruz, a Spanish woman who traveled to the Americas and became a renowned educator, establishing several schools in Mexico and Peru.
While the name Capricia has never been extremely common, it has continued to be used throughout history, often associated with a sense of whimsy, individuality, and a connection to nature. Its unique sound and rich cultural heritage make it a fascinating and captivating name, with a story that spans centuries and continents.
People
Capricia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Capricia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Capricia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Capricia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 247 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Capricia 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 1,387,669 US residents.
Is Capricia a common name?
We classify Capricia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 267 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Capricia most popular?
The single biggest year for Capricia was 1991, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Capricia is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Capricia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 263 people with the name Capricia, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,158 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 Capricia 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 Capricia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Capricia appears almost entirely female. Of the 260 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 Capricia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Capricia is Black at 71.5%. The next largest groups are White (18.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Capricia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Capricia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.5% (188 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 Capricia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Capricia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Capricia 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 Capricia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Capricia 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 Capricia 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 Capricia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.