Letrice
A female name derived from French meaning "happy" or "joyful".
Name Census estimates that about 378 living Americans carry the first name Letrice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Letrice today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Letrice births was 1980 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Letrice. 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
378
~ 1 in 906,758 Americans
Peak year
1980
28 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1994 SSA rank
#14,742
Tracked since 1927
Popularity
Letrice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Letrice from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 162 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Letrice 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 Letrice during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Letrices live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Georgia, Illinois recorded the most babies named Letrice, while Illinois, Georgia, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Letrice
The name Letrice is a feminine given name of French origin, derived from the Latin name Laetitia, meaning "joy" or "happiness." The name first appeared in the Middle Ages, around the 12th century, and was initially popularized among the French aristocracy.
In the 13th century, the name Letrice was mentioned in various historical records and literary works, including the French epic poem "The Song of Roland." This poem, which dates back to the late 11th century, features a character named Letrice, the wife of a Frankish knight.
During the Renaissance period, the name Letrice gained further prominence, particularly in France and Italy. One notable figure bearing this name was Letrice de Rieux (1504-1556), a French noblewoman and lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France.
In the 17th century, the name Letrice appeared in several religious texts and historical accounts. For instance, a Benedictine nun named Letrice de La Vallière (1644-1710) was known for her piety and spiritual writings.
Another significant figure associated with the name Letrice was Letrice Prudent (1786-1857), a French educator and writer who established several schools for girls in Paris during the early 19th century.
In the late 19th century, the name Letrice was also adopted by some English-speaking families, albeit with a slightly different spelling, such as Letitia or Lettice. One notable example was Lettice Knollys (1543-1634), an English noblewoman and a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I.
While the name Letrice has maintained a modest presence throughout history, it has never achieved widespread popularity. Nevertheless, it has been borne by several notable individuals, including Letrice Valiante (1915-1990), an Italian-American actress and singer, and Letrice Rushen (born 1963), an American jazz pianist and singer-songwriter.
People
Letrice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Letrice 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
Letrice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Letrice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 378 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Letrice 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 906,758 US residents.
Is Letrice a common name?
We classify Letrice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 429 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Letrice most popular?
The single biggest year for Letrice was 1980, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Letrice is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Letrice a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Letrice 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.