Maritsa
A feminine name of Bulgarian origin meaning "young river".
Name Census estimates that about 881 living Americans carry the first name Maritsa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maritsa today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maritsa births was 2006 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maritsa. 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
881
~ 1 in 389,051 Americans
Peak year
2006
37 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2016 SSA rank
#17,904
Tracked since 1956
Popularity
Maritsa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maritsa from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 281 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maritsa 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 Maritsa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maritsas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Maritsa, while Illinois, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 86 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maritsa
The given name Maritsa has its roots in the Slavic languages, originating from the Balkan region during the medieval period. It is derived from the Bulgarian name "Mara," which means "bitter" or "sorrow." The suffix "-itsa" is a common diminutive ending in Slavic names, suggesting that Maritsa may have initially been a nickname or a shortened form of a longer name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maritsa can be found in the 14th-century Bulgarian folklore, where it was associated with the Maritsa River, also known as the Evros or the Hebros. This river flows through modern-day Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, and it played a significant role in the region's history and mythology.
In the 15th century, a Bulgarian noblewoman named Maritsa Khutcheva was mentioned in historical records as a prominent figure in the resistance against the Ottoman Empire's conquest of the Balkans. Her name became a symbol of courage and patriotism for the Bulgarian people.
During the 16th century, a Serbian princess named Maritsa Branković was recorded as having married the Ottoman Sultan Murad II. This union was an attempt to strengthen political ties between the two powers, and Maritsa's name gained recognition in both Serbian and Ottoman circles.
In the 19th century, a notable figure named Maritsa Georgievna Kozhetnikova was a Russian pianist and composer. She was born in 1854 and made significant contributions to the development of Russian classical music.
Another notable person with the name Maritsa was Maritsa Nikolić, a Serbian painter and printmaker born in 1911. She was a prominent figure in the Serbian art scene and is known for her vibrant depictions of rural life and landscapes.
While the name Maritsa has its roots in the Slavic languages, it has also found usage in other cultures and languages over time. However, its historical significance and associations remain strongly tied to the Balkan region, where it has been a part of folklore, literature, and historical accounts for centuries.
People
Maritsa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maritsa 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
Maritsa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maritsa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 881 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maritsa 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 389,051 US residents.
Is Maritsa a common name?
We classify Maritsa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 930 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maritsa most popular?
The single biggest year for Maritsa was 2006, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maritsa is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maritsa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maritsa 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.