Modesta
A feminine name derived from Latin meaning "modest" or "virtuous".
Name Census estimates that about 679 living Americans carry the first name Modesta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Modesta today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Modesta births was 1926 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Modesta. 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
679
~ 1 in 504,793 Americans
Peak year
1926
41 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,997
Tracked since 1890
Census
Modesta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,014 people with the first name Modesta, which placed it at #4,583 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
#4,583
National first-name rank
People counted
4.0K
4,014 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
89.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Modesta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Modesta is Hispanic at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.4%) and White (3.5%). 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 Modesta 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 Modesta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.0% · 3,573
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.4% · 178
- White3.5% · 141
- Black or African American2.2% · 87
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 22
- Two or more races0.3% · 13
Popularity
Modesta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Modesta from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 279 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Modesta 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 Modesta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Modestas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, New Mexico recorded the most babies named Modesta, while New York, New Mexico, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 159 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Modesta
The name Modesta has its origins in Latin, derived from the word "modestus" which means "modest" or "restrained." It emerged as a feminine name during the Roman era, reflecting the cultural value placed on virtues like humility and moderation.
Modesta was a relatively common name among Roman women, particularly those from affluent families who sought to instill modest behavior in their daughters. It carried connotations of propriety, grace, and reserve, qualities that were highly regarded in ancient Roman society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Modesta can be found in ancient Roman inscriptions and historical texts. A notable example is Modesta, the wife of the Roman emperor Pertinax, who reigned briefly in 193 CE. Her name has been etched into historical records, though little is known about her life beyond her association with the imperial family.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Modesta gained further prominence as it resonated with the teachings of humility and modesty. Several early Christian saints bore this name, including Saint Modesta, a 4th-century virgin martyr from Sicily, and Saint Modesta of Trier, a 7th-century abbess revered for her piety and charitable works.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the name Modesta remained in use, though its popularity waxed and waned across different regions of Europe. One notable bearer of the name was Modesta Pozzo (1555-1592), an Italian painter and art teacher who achieved recognition for her portraits and religious works during the late Renaissance period.
As the centuries passed, the name Modesta continued to be used, although less frequently than in its heyday. Among its more notable bearers was Modesta Bor (1926-1998), a Polish actress renowned for her roles in films such as "The Triangular Square" and "The Promised Land."
While the name Modesta may not be as widely used today as it once was, its rich historical roots and enduring association with modesty and restraint have ensured its place in the annals of name traditions, particularly in regions with strong Latin cultural influences.
People
Modesta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Modesta 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
Modesta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Modesta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 679 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Modesta 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 504,793 US residents.
Is Modesta a common name?
We classify Modesta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,615 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Modesta most popular?
The single biggest year for Modesta was 1926, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Modesta is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Modesta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,014 people with the name Modesta, or 1.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,583 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 Modesta 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 Modesta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Modesta appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,016 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Modesta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Modesta is Hispanic at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.4%) and White (3.5%). 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 Modesta most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Modesta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (3,573 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 Modesta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Modesta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Modesta 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 Modesta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Modesta 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 Modesta 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 many people are named Modesta?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Modesta at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.