Monita
A name of Latin origin meaning "advisor" or "one who warns".
Name Census estimates that about 341 living Americans carry the first name Monita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Monita today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Monita births was 1961 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Monita. 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
341
~ 1 in 1,005,145 Americans
Peak year
1961
19 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1992 SSA rank
#14,753
Tracked since 1914
Census
Monita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 650 people with the first name Monita, which placed it at #17,115 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
#17,115
National first-name rank
People counted
650
650 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
36.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Monita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monita is Asian/Pacific Islander at 36.3%. The next largest groups are Black (30.0%) and White (24.2%). 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 Monita 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 Monita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander36.3% · 236
- Black or African American30.0% · 195
- White24.2% · 157
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 35
- Two or more races2.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 10
Popularity
Monita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Monita from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 123 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Monita 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 Monita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Monitas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Monita
The name Monita originates from the Latin language and can be traced back to ancient Roman times. It is derived from the Latin word "monere," which means "to warn" or "to advise." This suggests that the name was initially associated with wisdom, guidance, or a sense of caution.
In the early days of Christianity, Monita was a name given to female saints or religious figures who were known for their ability to provide spiritual counsel or warnings against temptation. One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the writings of St. Jerome, a prominent Christian scholar from the 4th century AD.
During the Middle Ages, the name Monita gained popularity across various regions of Europe, particularly in Italy, France, and Spain. It was often bestowed upon women who were respected for their wisdom and ability to offer sound advice within their communities.
One notable figure bearing the name Monita was Monita de Todi, an Italian mystic and religious writer who lived in the 13th century. She is renowned for her spiritual visions and her influential work, "The Revelations of Monita de Todi."
Another significant figure was Monita of Arles, a 6th-century abbess and founder of a convent in the city of Arles, France. She was revered for her piety and her role in establishing a religious community dedicated to prayer and service.
In the 16th century, Monita de Villanueva, a Spanish mystic and author, gained recognition for her writings on spiritual matters and her contributions to the Carmelite Order.
During the Renaissance period, the name Monita was associated with intellectuals and scholars. One such individual was Monita Pico della Mirandola, an Italian humanist and philosopher who lived in the 15th century. She was celebrated for her knowledge and her engagement in intellectual discourse.
Throughout history, the name Monita has been borne by individuals who embodied wisdom, guidance, and a commitment to spiritual or intellectual pursuits. While its popularity may have waxed and waned in different regions, the name's origins and associations with counsel and warnings have persisted through the ages.
People
Monita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Monita 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
Monita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Monita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 341 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Monita 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 1,005,145 US residents.
Is Monita a common name?
We classify Monita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 505 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Monita most popular?
The single biggest year for Monita was 1961, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Monita 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 Monita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 650 people with the name Monita, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,115 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 Monita 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 Monita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Monita appears almost entirely female. Of the 647 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Monita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monita is Asian/Pacific Islander at 36.3%. The next largest groups are Black (30.0%) and White (24.2%). 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 Monita most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Monita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 36.3% (236 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 Monita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Monita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Monita 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 Monita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Monita 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 Monita 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 common is the name Monita?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.