Monika
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "alone" or "unique".
Name Census estimates that about 9,040 living Americans carry the first name Monika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Monika today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Monika births was 1990 (257 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Monika. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Monika with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
9.0K
~ 1 in 37,915 Americans
Peak year
1990
257 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,248
Tracked since 1942
Census
Monika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 21,581 people with the first name Monika, which placed it at #1,527 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
#1,527
National first-name rank
People counted
22K
21,581 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
7.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Monika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monika is White at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.6%) and Hispanic (9.3%). 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 Monika 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 Monika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.6% · 15,226
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.6% · 2,510
- Hispanic or Latino9.3% · 2,011
- Black or African American6.0% · 1,290
- Two or more races2.2% · 483
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 61
Popularity
Monika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Monika from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 2,280 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
Monika 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 Monika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Monikas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. California, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Monika, while Utah, Nevada, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 211 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Monika
The name Monika originated from the Late Latin name "Monica," which is derived from the Greek word "monos," meaning "alone" or "singular." The name gained popularity in the early Christian era and has been used across various cultures and regions.
The earliest recorded use of the name Monica dates back to the 4th century AD, when it was borne by St. Monica, the mother of the influential philosopher and theologian St. Augustine. St. Monica was known for her strong Christian faith and her perseverance in prayer, which eventually led to her son's conversion to Christianity.
During the Middle Ages, the name Monika was relatively uncommon, but it gained renewed popularity in the Renaissance period. One notable figure from this era was Monika von Rosenfeld (1455-1543), a German noblewoman and writer who authored several religious texts and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
In the 18th century, the name Monika was particularly popular in Central and Eastern Europe. One famous bearer of the name from this period was Monika Żórawska (1762-1842), a Polish writer and translator who was instrumental in promoting the works of William Shakespeare in her native country.
The 19th century saw the name Monika gain popularity across Europe and beyond. One notable figure was Monika Perton (1847-1918), a Swedish journalist and suffragette who fought for women's rights and the abolition of censorship laws.
In the 20th century, the name Monika continued to be widely used, particularly in German-speaking countries. One famous bearer of the name was Monika Gedeck (1951-present), a German actress known for her roles in films such as "The Lives of Others" and "The Wave."
Another notable figure was Monika Seleš (1973-present), a former professional tennis player from Yugoslavia (now Serbia) who won nine Grand Slam singles titles and was ranked World No. 1 in 1991 and 1992.
Throughout its history, the name Monika has been associated with qualities such as individuality, strength, and perseverance, reflecting its Greek roots and the legacy of its early Christian bearers.
People
Monika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Monika 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
Monika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Monika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,040 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Monika 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 37,915 US residents.
Is Monika a common name?
We classify Monika as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,790 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Monika most popular?
The single biggest year for Monika was 1990, when 257 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Monika is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Monika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 21,581 people with the name Monika, or 7.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,527 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 Monika 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 Monika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Monika appears almost entirely female. Of the 21,582 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Monika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monika is White at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.6%) and Hispanic (9.3%). 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 Monika most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Monika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.6% (15,226 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 Monika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Monika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Monika 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 Monika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Monika 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 Monika 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 called Monika?
You can see how many people share the name Monika on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.