Placide
Of Latin origin, meaning calm, tranquil, or peaceful.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Placide. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Placide today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Placide births was 1913 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Placide. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Placide. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1913
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1913 SSA rank
#3,158
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Placide: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Placide 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 Placide during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Placide
The name Placide has its origins in the Latin language, deriving from the word "placidus," which means "calm" or "peaceful." This name was particularly popular during the ancient Roman era and the early Christian period.
One of the earliest recorded usages of the name Placide can be found in the 4th century AD, when it was borne by Saint Placide, a disciple of Saint Benedict. According to legend, Saint Placide was a young monk who was martyred by drowning in a river near Messina, Sicily, around the year 541 AD.
In the 7th century, Placide was also the name of a Benedictine monk and scholar who lived in the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. He is known for his contributions to the study of sacred liturgy and the writing of hagiographies (biographies of saints).
During the Middle Ages, the name Placide gained popularity across various European regions, particularly in France and Italy. One notable figure from this era was Placide Ramponi (1512-1559), an Italian jurist and diplomat who served as the ambassador of the Republic of Genoa to the court of King Henry II of France.
In the 17th century, Placide Gautrelet (1636-1707) was a French Benedictine monk and historian who authored several works on the history of his order and the lives of prominent Benedictine figures.
Another notable bearer of the name Placide was Placide Tempier (1788-1870), a French Catholic priest who co-founded the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a religious congregation dedicated to missionary work and education.
Throughout its history, the name Placide has been borne by various other individuals, including authors, artists, and religious figures, reflecting its enduring presence across different cultures and time periods.
People
Placide + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Placide 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
Placide: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Placide?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Placide 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 - US residents.
Is Placide a common name?
We classify Placide as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Placide most popular?
The single biggest year for Placide was 1913, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Placide is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Placide in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Placide a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Placide in the SSA data are male. 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 Placide still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Placide 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 Placide 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Placide?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.