Lettice
From Old French, meaning "beloved, pleasing, or joyful".
Name Census estimates that about 8 living Americans carry the first name Lettice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lettice today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lettice births was 1922 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lettice. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lettice with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lettice. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
8
~ 1 in 42,844,292 Americans
Peak year
1922
8 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1969 SSA rank
#8,104
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Lettice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lettice from the 1920s through to the 1960s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 8 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Lettice remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lettice 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 Lettice 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 Lettice
The name Lettice is derived from the Latin word "lactuca," which means "lettuce." It originated in medieval England, where it was likely first used as a nickname or descriptive name for someone who grew or sold lettuce. The name became more widespread during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Lettice is considered a variant spelling of the name Lettice or Lettyce, which was more commonly used in the Middle Ages. The name Lettice may also be related to the Old French name "Laitisse" or the Old English name "Lætitia," both of which are derived from the Latin word "laetitia," meaning "joy" or "happiness."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Lettice was in the 12th century, when a woman named Lettice de Beaumont was mentioned in historical records from Lincolnshire, England. In the 14th century, a woman named Lettice Catesby was recorded as being a member of the English gentry.
One of the most famous historical figures named Lettice was Lettice Knollys (1543-1634), who was an English noblewoman and the second wife of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex. She was a prominent figure at the court of Queen Elizabeth I and was involved in various political intrigues.
Another notable figure with the name Lettice was Lettice Newdigate (1582-1644), an English lady who was the wife of Sir John Newdigate and a prominent landowner in Warwickshire. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the Church of England.
In the 17th century, Lettice Cary (1612-1677) was an English poet and translator who was part of the literary circle surrounding the poet John Donne. She is best known for her translations of works by French and Italian authors.
Lettice Coverdale (1594-1670) was an English Puritan writer and translator who was active during the English Civil War. She is known for her translation of the works of the Dutch theologian Willem Teellinck.
While the name Lettice was once relatively common in England, it fell out of widespread use by the 19th century. However, it has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent decades as a unique and distinctive name with historical roots.
People
Lettice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lettice 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
Lettice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lettice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lettice 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 42,844,292 US residents.
Is Lettice a common name?
We classify Lettice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 24.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lettice most popular?
The single biggest year for Lettice was 1922, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lettice is about 64 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 Lettice in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lettice a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lettice 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 Lettice still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lettice 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 Lettice 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 are called Lettice?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.