Millicent
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "industrious strength".
Name Census estimates that about 5,821 living Americans carry the first name Millicent. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Millicent today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Millicent births was 1927 (249 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Millicent. 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
5.8K
~ 1 in 58,882 Americans
Peak year
1927
249 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,639
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Millicent: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Millicent from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 2,014 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Millicent 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 Millicent during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Millicents live
The SSA's state-level files cover 35 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Millicent, while Oregon, Kentucky, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 169 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Millicent
Millicent is a feminine given name of English origin, derived from the Old German words "mil" meaning "work" and "kint" meaning "child" or "kin". The name's meaning is interpreted as "hardworking child" or "diligent child". It gained popularity in England during the Middle Ages, initially as a surname.
The earliest recorded use of the name Millicent dates back to the 12th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Millicent de Gournay, a Norman noblewoman who lived in the late 12th century. She was the wife of Roger de Beaumont, Earl of Warwick.
In the 13th century, Millicent Plantagenet, Princess of Wales, was a notable figure who bore the name. She was the daughter of King John of England and his first wife, Isabella of Angoulême. Millicent Plantagenet was born around 1210 and married John de Montfort, Lord of Monmouth, in 1228.
During the 16th century, Millicent Bulstrode (c. 1535 - c. 1585) was an English gentlewoman and landowner. She was the daughter of Sir Richard Bulstrode and inherited significant estates in Buckinghamshire and Middlesex.
In the 17th century, Millicent Fawcett (1847 - 1929) was a prominent British feminist, intellectual, and leader of the Constitutional Suffrage movement. She played a pivotal role in the campaign for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom.
Another notable bearer of the name was Millicent Garrett Fawcett (1879 - 1919), the daughter of Millicent Fawcett. She was a British mathematician and writer, known for her work in promoting women's education and advocating for women's rights.
While the name Millicent fell out of widespread use in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it experienced a revival in popularity in the late 20th century, particularly in English-speaking countries. The name's enduring appeal lies in its unique sound and historical significance.
People
Millicent + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Millicent 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
Millicent: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Millicent?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,821 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Millicent 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 58,882 US residents.
Is Millicent a common name?
We classify Millicent as "Rare". It ranks above 96.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,718 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Millicent most popular?
The single biggest year for Millicent was 1927, when 249 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Millicent is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Millicent a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Millicent 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.