Hortensia
Of Latin origin, meaning "gardener" or associated with gardens and flowers.
Name Census estimates that about 664 living Americans carry the first name Hortensia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hortensia today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hortensia births was 1928 (66 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hortensia. 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 Hortensia is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hortensias were born before 1969.
People living today
664
~ 1 in 516,196 Americans
Peak year
1928
66 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1995 SSA rank
#14,249
Tracked since 1896
Popularity
Hortensia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hortensia from the 1890s through to the 1990s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 443 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
Hortensia 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 Hortensia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hortensias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Arizona recorded the most babies named Hortensia, while New York, Arizona, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 298 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hortensia
The given name Hortensia has its origins in the Latin language and ancient Roman culture, dating back to the Republican and Imperial periods. It is derived from the Latin word "hortus," meaning "garden," and is related to the name of the ancient Roman gens (clan) Hortensii.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Quintus Hortensius, a renowned Roman orator and advocate who lived from 114 BC to 50 BC. He was known for his oratorical skills and was considered one of the greatest lawyers of his time.
Another historical figure with the name Hortensia was the daughter of the famous Roman orator Quintus Hortensius. She lived in the 1st century BC and is remembered for her courageous speech before the Second Triumvirate, in which she defended the rights of Roman women to inherit property.
In the Middle Ages, the name Hortensia was occasionally used in various European countries, although it was not as common as some other names of Latin origin. One notable bearer of the name was Hortensia Guicciardini (1521-1598), an Italian noblewoman and writer from Florence.
During the Renaissance and Baroque periods, the name Hortensia gained some popularity among the upper classes in various European countries. One example is Hortensia Mancini (1646-1699), an Italian-French courtier and one of the famous Mancini sisters who influenced the court of Louis XIV in France.
In the 19th century, the name Hortensia was occasionally used in various parts of Europe, particularly in France and Italy. One notable bearer was Hortensia Félicité Eugénie Beauharnais (1811-1837), the daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais and Princess Augusta of Bavaria, and the adopted daughter of Napoleon I.
While not an extremely common name, Hortensia has been used throughout history in various parts of Europe, particularly in Italy, France, and other regions influenced by Roman culture and the Latin language. Its associations with ancient Roman figures, as well as its botanical connections, have contributed to its enduring appeal as a given name.
People
Hortensia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hortensia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hortensia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hortensia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 664 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hortensia 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 516,196 US residents.
Is Hortensia a common name?
We classify Hortensia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,794 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hortensia most popular?
The single biggest year for Hortensia was 1928, when 66 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hortensia is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hortensia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hortensia 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.