Marice
A variant of the masculine name Maurice, meaning "dark-skinned one."
Name Census estimates that about 912 living Americans carry the first name Marice. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 60.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Marice today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marice births was 1971 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marice. 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
- • Marice sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
912
~ 1 in 375,827 Americans
Peak year
1971
36 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2011 SSA rank
#7,316
Tracked since 1919
Gender
Gender distribution for Marice
Marice is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,184 total registrations, 717 (60.6%) were male and 467 (39.4%) were female.
Marice as a male name
- Ranked #7,316 in 2011
- 11 male births in 2011
- Peak: 1976 (25 births)
Marice as a female name
- Ranked #14,856 in 1995
- 5 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1971 (21 births)
Popularity
Marice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marice from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 293 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
Marice 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 Marice during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marices live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marice
The name Marice is a variant of the French name Maurice, which has its roots in the ancient Roman name Mauritius. The origin of the name can be traced back to the Latin word "Maurus," meaning "Moorish" or "dark-skinned," referring to the people of North Africa.
During the late Roman Empire, Mauritius was a common name among Christian martyrs and saints, particularly St. Maurice, a 3rd-century Roman soldier who was martyred for his Christian faith along with his entire legion, known as the Theban Legion. This association with early Christian martyrdom contributed to the name's widespread use throughout Europe during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marice can be found in the 8th century, when a Frankish nobleman named Marice served as a royal advisor to Charlemagne, the King of the Franks and the first ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Marice played a crucial role in the consolidation of Charlemagne's power and the spread of Christianity throughout Western Europe.
In the 12th century, a renowned French philosopher and theologian named Marice de Sully was born in Paris. He served as the Bishop of Paris from 1163 to 1196 and was instrumental in the construction of the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral. His writings on theology and philosophy had a significant influence on medieval thought.
Another notable bearer of the name Marice was Marice de Saxe, a famous military leader and marshal of France during the 18th century. Born in 1696, he is renowned for his innovative tactics and strategic brilliance, which contributed to several French victories during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.
In the realm of literature, Marice Baring, an English writer and poet, gained recognition in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in 1874, he is best known for his works "Haunted Hours" and "Daphne Adeane," which explored themes of love, loss, and the supernatural.
The name Marice has a rich historical legacy, with its origins rooted in ancient Roman culture and its subsequent association with Christian martyrdom and influential figures throughout European history. While the spelling and pronunciation may have evolved over time, the name continues to carry a sense of strength, resilience, and cultural significance.
People
Marice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marice 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
Marice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 912 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marice 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 375,827 US residents.
Is Marice a common name?
We classify Marice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,184 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marice most popular?
The single biggest year for Marice was 1971, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marice is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marice a male name?
Yes, 60.6% of people registered as Marice in the SSA data are male. 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.