Patrica
Of Latin origin meaning "noble" or "patrician".
Name Census estimates that about 6,054 living Americans carry the first name Patrica. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Patrica today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Patrica births was 1962 (307 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Patrica. 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
6.1K
~ 1 in 56,616 Americans
Peak year
1962
307 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
1962 SSA rank
#4,478
Tracked since 1911
Census
Patrica in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 18,432 people with the first name Patrica, which placed it at #1,685 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
#1,685
National first-name rank
People counted
18K
18,432 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patrica
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Patrica is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (8.3%). 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 Patrica 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 Patrica at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.2% · 14,405
- Black or African American10.5% · 1,934
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 1,531
- Two or more races1.7% · 316
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 129
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 117
Gender
Gender distribution for Patrica
Out of the 9,156 babies given the name Patrica since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Patrica as a male name
- Ranked #4,478 in 1962
- 5 male births in 1962
- Peak: 1946 (5 births)
Patrica as a female name
- Ranked #16,763 in 2009
- 6 female births in 2009
- Peak: 1962 (302 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Patrica appears almost entirely female. Of the 18,427 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Patrica: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Patrica from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 2,461 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
Patrica 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 Patrica during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Patricas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. California, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Patrica, while Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 167 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Patrica
The name Patrica is a feminine given name derived from the Latin name Patricius, meaning "noble" or "patrician." Its origins can be traced back to ancient Rome, where the patricians were members of the elite aristocratic class.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Patricius was adopted as a Christian name, particularly by those of noble or influential backgrounds. It was later anglicized to become the modern English name Patrick, which gained widespread popularity as a male name.
The name Patrica, however, emerged as a feminine variant of Patrick, likely in the medieval period. While its exact origin is uncertain, it is believed to have been influenced by other Latin-derived names ending in "-icia," such as Patricia or Felicia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Patrica dates back to the 12th century, when a noblewoman named Patrica de Beaumont was mentioned in historical records from England. She was the daughter of Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, and lived during the reign of King Henry II.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Patrica Locke was a prominent Protestant martyr during the English Reformation. She was burned at the stake in 1555 for her religious beliefs, becoming a symbol of resistance against religious persecution.
Another historical figure bearing the name Patrica was Patrica Hanson, a 17th-century English author and poet. She published several works, including a collection of poems titled "The Delightful Grove" in 1670.
During the 18th century, Patrica Leighton was a Scottish painter known for her portraits and landscapes. She was active in the latter half of the century and became a respected artist in her time.
In the 19th century, Patrica Fielding was an English writer and social reformer. She campaigned for women's rights and authored several books, including "The Cause of Woman" in 1845, which advocated for greater equality and educational opportunities for women.
While the name Patrica has a long and rich history, its usage has been relatively uncommon compared to other feminine names derived from Latin or Roman origins. Nevertheless, it has maintained a presence throughout various periods, carried by notable individuals who have left their mark in various fields.
People
Patrica + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Patrica as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Patrica: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Patrica?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,054 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Patrica 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 56,616 US residents.
Is Patrica a common name?
We classify Patrica as "Rare". It ranks above 96.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,156 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Patrica most popular?
The single biggest year for Patrica was 1962, when 307 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Patrica is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Patrica in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 18,432 people with the name Patrica, or 6.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,685 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 Patrica 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 Patrica?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Patrica appears almost entirely female. Of the 18,427 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Patrica?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Patrica is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Hispanic (8.3%). 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 Patrica most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Patrica in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.2% (14,405 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 Patrica in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Patrica a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Patrica 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 Patrica still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Patrica 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 Patrica 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 Patrica?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.