Letonia
Of Latin origin, meaning "from Latonia", referring to ancient Latona.
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Letonia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Letonia today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Letonia births was 1972 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Letonia. 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 Letonia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
1972
13 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1975 SSA rank
#6,226
Tracked since 1962
Popularity
Letonia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Letonia from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 54 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Letonia 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 Letonia 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 Letonia
The given name Letonia is derived from the Latin word "Letonia," which refers to the region now known as Latvia. The name originated during the Middle Ages, when Latin was the language used for scholarly and ecclesiastical writings across Europe.
The earliest recorded use of Letonia as a personal name dates back to the 13th century, when it was given to individuals born or residing in the territory of Letonia, which was part of the historical Livonian Confederation. The name likely emerged as a way to identify someone's geographic origin or connection to the region.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Letonia de Riga was mentioned in a chronicle written by a Franciscan friar, describing her as a noblewoman from the city of Riga, which was a prominent center of trade and cultural exchange in the region.
During the Renaissance period, Letonia became a more widespread name across Europe, particularly in areas with strong ties to the Hanseatic League, a powerful economic and defensive alliance of merchant guilds and towns in Northern Europe. The name was often associated with individuals involved in trade or commerce between the Baltic regions and other parts of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Letonia as a given name outside the Baltic region was in the 16th century, when a merchant named Letonia Mercatore was mentioned in records from the city of Genoa, Italy. This suggests that the name had begun to spread beyond its original geographic origins.
In the 18th century, a notable figure named Letonia von Buxhoeveden was a Swedish-born military officer who served in the Russian Imperial Army. She gained recognition for her bravery and leadership during the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded several military honors.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, Letonia remained a relatively uncommon name, but it continued to be used occasionally, particularly in areas with historical ties to the Baltic region or among families with connections to the region's cultural heritage.
People
Letonia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Letonia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Letonia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Letonia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Letonia 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Letonia a common name?
We classify Letonia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 86 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Letonia most popular?
The single biggest year for Letonia was 1972, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Letonia is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Letonia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Letonia 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.