Ursuline
A feminine name tracing its origins to St. Ursula, meaning "little female bear".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Ursuline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ursuline today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ursuline births was 1914 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ursuline. 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 Ursuline. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1914
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1924 SSA rank
#5,827
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Ursuline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ursuline from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 15 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ursuline 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 Ursuline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ursuline
The name Ursuline has its roots in the Latin language and is derived from the name Ursula, which means "little female bear" or "she-bear." The name Ursula itself originated from the Latin word "ursus," meaning bear.
The name Ursuline is closely associated with the Ursuline Order, a Roman Catholic religious order of nuns dedicated to the education of girls and young women. The order was founded in 1535 by St. Angela Merici in Brescia, Italy, and took its name from St. Ursula, a legendary virgin martyr who was believed to have been executed by the Huns along with her companions in the 4th or 5th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ursuline can be found in the writings of St. Angela Merici herself, who referred to her sisters as "Ursulines" in her spiritual testament. The name gained popularity among Catholic communities, particularly in Europe, as the Ursuline Order established schools and convents across the continent.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Ursuline, primarily within the Ursuline Order. One such example is Ursuline de Benigde (1632-1717), a French Ursuline nun and author who wrote a influential spiritual work titled "L'Ecole du Pur Amour" (The School of Pure Love).
Another famous Ursuline was Ursuline Duchemin (1640-1718), a French-Canadian Ursuline nun who co-founded the Ursuline Convent in Quebec City, which is considered the oldest educational institution for women in North America.
In the 19th century, Ursuline Naville (1792-1875) was a Swiss Protestant writer and educator who advocated for the education of women and helped establish several schools in Switzerland.
Ursuline Ledoux (1768-1828) was a French painter and miniaturist who is known for her portraits of notable figures during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era.
Ursuline Mirouët (1849-1932) was a French Catholic nun and educator who founded the Congregation of the Daughters of the Holy Family, an order dedicated to the education of young girls in rural areas.
It is important to note that while the name Ursuline has strong historical ties to the Ursuline Order and the Catholic faith, it has also been adopted by individuals outside of these contexts, though less commonly.
People
Ursuline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ursuline as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ursuline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ursuline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ursuline 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 Ursuline a common name?
We classify Ursuline 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, 25 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ursuline most popular?
The single biggest year for Ursuline was 1914, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ursuline 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 Ursuline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ursuline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ursuline 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 Ursuline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ursuline 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 Ursuline 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 Ursuline?
You can see how many people have the name Ursuline on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.