Florida
A feminine name derived from the Spanish explorer Ponce de León's name for the lush region meaning "land of flowers".
Name Census estimates that about 578 living Americans carry the first name Florida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Florida today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Florida births was 1925 (99 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Florida. 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
- • The typical person named Florida is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Floridas were born before 1961.
People living today
578
~ 1 in 593,001 Americans
Peak year
1925
99 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1918 SSA rank
#4,394
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Florida
Out of the 3,532 babies given the name Florida since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Florida as a male name
- Ranked #4,394 in 1918
- 5 male births in 1918
- Peak: 1918 (5 births)
Florida as a female name
- Ranked #14,158 in 1994
- 5 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1925 (99 births)
Popularity
Florida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Florida from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 754 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Florida 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 Florida during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Floridas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida recorded the most babies named Florida, while Maine, Kentucky, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 89 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Florida
Florida is a relatively modern name that emerged in the late 16th century. It is derived from the Spanish term "la Florida" which means "the land of flowers". This name was given to the region now known as the state of Florida by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León in 1513.
The name Florida itself does not have any direct linguistic roots in ancient languages or cultures. It is a descriptive name given to the region by Spanish explorers who were struck by the abundance of flowers and lush vegetation they encountered upon arriving in the area.
Florida as a given name for individuals did not become popular until the 20th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name being used for a person was Florida Ruffin Ridley, an American educator, activist, and co-founder of the Atlanta Civic League, who was born in 1861.
Another notable individual with the first name Florida was Florida Fleming, an American vaudeville performer and singer who was active in the early 20th century. She was born in 1888 and is remembered for her performances in various Broadway shows.
In literature, the name Florida appears in the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston, published in 1937. In the novel, Florida is the name of one of the supporting characters, a young woman from the fictional town of Eatonville, Florida.
One of the most famous individuals with the first name Florida was Florida Friebus, an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout the mid-20th century. She was born in 1909 and had a successful career in Hollywood until her death in 1988.
Another notable figure with the name Florida was Florida Everhart, an American fashion model and actress who achieved fame in the 1980s and 1990s. She was born in 1959 and has appeared in various films and television shows throughout her career.
People
Florida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Florida as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Florida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Florida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 578 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Florida 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 593,001 US residents.
Is Florida a common name?
We classify Florida as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,532 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Florida most popular?
The single biggest year for Florida was 1925, when 99 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Florida is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Florida a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Florida 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.
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.