Chicquita
A diminutive form of 'chica' meaning little girl or little one.
Name Census estimates that about 55 living Americans carry the first name Chicquita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chicquita today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chicquita births was 1978 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chicquita. 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 Chicquita. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
55
~ 1 in 6,231,897 Americans
Peak year
1978
8 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
1982 SSA rank
#10,789
Tracked since 1954
Popularity
Chicquita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chicquita from the 1950s through to the 1980s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 29 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Chicquita remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chicquita 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 Chicquita 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 Chicquita
Chicquita is a diminutive form of the Spanish name Chica, which means "little girl" or "young woman." The name has its origins in the Spanish language and is believed to have been derived from the Latin word "ciccum," meaning "small" or "petite."
The earliest known use of the name Chicquita can be traced back to the 16th century, during the time of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. It was a common nickname given to young girls, particularly those of Spanish or Latin American descent.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Chicquita can be found in the writings of Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, a Spanish Dominican friar and historian known for his advocacy for the rights of indigenous peoples in the Americas. In his accounts, he referred to young indigenous girls as "chicquitas."
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Chicquita. One such person was Chicquita Banana, a character created by the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Brands International) in the early 20th century to promote their banana products. While not a real person, Chicquita Banana became an iconic figure and a symbol of the company.
Another notable Chicquita was Chicquita González (1919-2013), a Mexican-American activist and businesswoman. She was a prominent figure in the Chicano Movement and played a significant role in advocating for the rights of Mexican-Americans in the United States.
In the realm of music, Chicquita (born Edith Marie Henning, 1928-2014) was an American singer and actress who became popular in the 1950s and 1960s. She is best known for her hit song "Pineapple Princess" and her appearances on various television shows.
Chicquita Báez (born 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress and singer who has had a long and successful career in both the United States and Latin America. She is particularly known for her work in the theater and for her roles in several popular telenovelas.
Lastly, Chicquita Haase (born 1947) is a German former swimmer who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. She won a bronze medal in the 4x100m medley relay event, making her one of the few athletes with the name Chicquita to achieve Olympic success.
People
Chicquita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chicquita 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
Chicquita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chicquita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 55 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chicquita 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 6,231,897 US residents.
Is Chicquita a common name?
We classify Chicquita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 63 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chicquita most popular?
The single biggest year for Chicquita was 1978, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chicquita is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Chicquita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chicquita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chicquita 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 Chicquita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chicquita 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 Chicquita 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Chicquita?
Want to know how many Americans are named Chicquita? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.