Licia
A feminine name of Italian origin meaning "happy" or "joyful".
Name Census estimates that about 618 living Americans carry the first name Licia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Licia today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Licia births was 1960 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Licia. 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 Licia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
618
~ 1 in 554,619 Americans
Peak year
1960
53 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,419
Tracked since 1919
Census
Licia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 971 people with the first name Licia, which placed it at #12,711 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,711
National first-name rank
People counted
971
971 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Licia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Licia is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.2%) and Black (11.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Licia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Licia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.4% · 567
- Hispanic or Latino23.2% · 225
- Black or African American11.2% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 31
- Two or more races2.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 12
Popularity
Licia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Licia from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 297 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Licia 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 Licia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Licias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Michigan recorded the most babies named Licia, while Michigan, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Licia
The name Licia is believed to have its roots in Ancient Greek, deriving from the word "lykos," meaning "wolf." It was a relatively uncommon name in ancient times but carried connotations of strength and fierceness, traits associated with the wolf in Greek mythology.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Licia can be traced back to the 4th century BCE, when it was mentioned in the writings of the Greek historian Xenophon. In his work "Anabasis," he referred to a woman named Licia who was a member of the Spartan nobility.
During the Byzantine Empire, the name gained some popularity among the aristocracy, likely due to its Greek origins and connotations of power. One notable figure from this era was Licia Theodora, a noblewoman who lived in the 11th century and was known for her philanthropic efforts in supporting the construction of churches and monasteries.
In the Renaissance period, the name resurfaced in Italy, where it was sometimes used as a variant of the more common name "Leticia." One notable Italian figure bearing the name was Licia Albanese, an acclaimed opera singer who was born in 1909 and had a successful career spanning several decades, performing in prestigious venues such as the Metropolitan Opera.
Moving into more modern times, the name Licia found some popularity in the early 20th century, particularly in France and Italy. One notable French bearer of the name was Licia Albanese, a writer and translator born in 1909 who was known for her work in promoting French literature and culture.
Another significant figure was Licia Colò, an Italian journalist and activist who was born in 1920 and played a crucial role in advocating for women's rights and gender equality in post-war Italy.
While the name Licia has never been among the most popular given names, its rich history and unique origins have contributed to its enduring appeal over the centuries, making it a distinctive choice for parents seeking a name with a strong cultural and linguistic heritage.
People
Licia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Licia 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
Licia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Licia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 618 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Licia 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 554,619 US residents.
Is Licia a common name?
We classify Licia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 735 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Licia most popular?
The single biggest year for Licia was 1960, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Licia is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Licia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 971 people with the name Licia, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,711 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Licia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Licia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Licia appears almost entirely female. Of the 962 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Licia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Licia is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.2%) and Black (11.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Licia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Licia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.4% (567 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Licia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Licia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Licia 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 Licia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Licia 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 Licia 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.
How common is the name Licia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.