Monea
Of Latin origin meaning "alone" or "single", a feminine name.
Name Census estimates that about 280 living Americans carry the first name Monea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Monea today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Monea births was 1991 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Monea. 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
280
~ 1 in 1,224,123 Americans
Peak year
1991
22 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2011 SSA rank
#18,693
Tracked since 1979
Census
Monea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 290 people with the first name Monea, which placed it at #30,183 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
#30,183
National first-name rank
People counted
290
290 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
75.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Monea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monea is Black at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Monea 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 Monea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.9% · 220
- Hispanic or Latino10.0% · 29
- Two or more races7.9% · 23
- White4.8% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Monea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Monea from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 157 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
Monea 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 Monea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Moneas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Monea
The name Monea is a variation of the Spanish name Mona, which is derived from the Latin word "mona," meaning "little ape" or "monkey." This name has its origins in the medieval period when it was used as a term of endearment for a beloved woman or child.
Monea can also be traced back to the ancient Greek word "monos," meaning "alone" or "solitary." This connection suggests that the name may have been given to a child who was an only child or born in isolation.
During the Renaissance period, the name Monea gained popularity in Italy and Spain. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the writings of the Italian poet Petrarch, who mentions a woman named Monea in his collection of poems, "Il Canzoniere," written in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, a Spanish noblewoman named Monea de Mendoza was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the famous painter El Greco. She commissioned several works from him, including a portrait of herself.
Another notable figure with the name Monea was Monea Elhuyar, a Spanish chemist and mineralogist who lived from 1783 to 1833. She was the first woman to study at the School of Mines in Madrid and made significant contributions to the field of chemistry.
In the 19th century, Monea Cabell was an American author and poet who wrote under the pen name "Isa." She was born in 1824 and published several collections of poetry and novels during her lifetime.
During the 20th century, Monea Tanzer was a German-born American artist and sculptor who lived from 1911 to 2003. She was known for her abstract sculptures and her work exploring themes of nature and spirituality.
While the name Monea has its roots in various languages and cultures, it has remained a relatively uncommon name throughout history. However, its unique sound and intriguing origins have made it a distinctive choice for parents seeking a name with a rich historical and linguistic background.
People
Monea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Monea 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
Monea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Monea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 280 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Monea 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 1,224,123 US residents.
Is Monea a common name?
We classify Monea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 289 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Monea most popular?
The single biggest year for Monea was 1991, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Monea is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Monea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 290 people with the name Monea, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,183 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 Monea 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 Monea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Monea leans strongly female. 279 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Monea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monea is Black at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Monea most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Monea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.9% (220 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 Monea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Monea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Monea 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 Monea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Monea 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 Monea 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 Americans are named Monea?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.