Marica
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "little bitter one".
Name Census estimates that about 782 living Americans carry the first name Marica. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marica today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marica births was 1974 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marica. 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
782
~ 1 in 438,305 Americans
Peak year
1974
33 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2005 SSA rank
#15,732
Tracked since 1938
Popularity
Marica: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marica from the 1930s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 229 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
Marica 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 Marica during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maricas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Marica, while Georgia, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marica
The given name Marica is believed to have originated from the Latin word "maricus," which was used as a derogatory term for an effeminate or cowardly man. This word is thought to be derived from the ancient Roman deity Mars, the god of war, with the suffix "-icus" indicating a masculine diminutive form.
Despite its pejorative origins, the name Marica eventually gained popularity and was used as a feminine name in various cultures. In ancient Rome, Marica was also the name of a minor goddess associated with marshes and the protection of sailors.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Marica can be found in the writings of the Roman poet Virgil, who mentions a sacred grove dedicated to the goddess Marica in his epic work the Aeneid, written around 19 BCE.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Marica. One of the earliest was Marica of Antioch, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century CE and was executed during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
In the Middle Ages, Marica Opatić (c. 1420-1480) was a Croatian noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the defense of her family's estates against Ottoman incursions.
During the Renaissance, Marica Cortese (1532-1595) was an Italian poet and scholar who was widely celebrated for her literary talents and her collection of poetry, which was published posthumously.
In the 19th century, Marica Kosáryová (1825-1905) was a Slovak writer and journalist who was a prominent figure in the Slovak national revival movement and contributed greatly to the promotion of Slovak language and culture.
Another noteworthy individual was Marica Nadlišek Križnar (1919-1975), a Slovenian partisan and political activist who fought against the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia during World War II and later served as a member of the National Assembly of Slovenia.
While the name Marica has its roots in a pejorative term, it has evolved over time and has been borne by numerous individuals throughout history, from martyrs and noblewomen to poets, writers, and activists, reflecting the diverse cultural and linguistic heritage of the name.
People
Marica + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marica as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Marica: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marica?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 782 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marica 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 438,305 US residents.
Is Marica a common name?
We classify Marica as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 924 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marica most popular?
The single biggest year for Marica was 1974, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marica is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marica a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marica 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.