Patricia
Patricia was the 1336th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 167 babies. Its best year was 1937, when it ranked 3rd; the most babies were born in 1951 (56,446). Over the last ten years it has moved down 534 places. More babies were named Patricia in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning noble, patrician · Latin
Say it puh-TRISH-uh /pəˈtɹɪʃə/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,336 girls, down 219 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 167girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 195156,446 babies
- Total since 1880
- 1,578,584babies recorded
What does the name Patricia mean?
Patricia is from Latin patricia 'noble, patrician', a member of Rome's aristocratic families, and later was also treated as the feminine of Patricius (Patrick), as Wiktionary and DMNES note. Saint Patricia of Naples is a 7th-century patron of that city. The name became popular in Britain after Princess Patricia of Connaught (born 1886) and was one of the most common American girls' names of the 1940s and 1950s.
patricius (Latin, “patrician, noble”)pater (Latin, “father”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Patrick, Pat, Patty, Trisha, Tricia, Patsy.
See also: Latin names, names that mean noble.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Patricia', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Patricia', DMNES (Durham University)
Nicknames for Patricia
The usual nicknames for Patricia are Pat, Patty, Trish, Tricia and Patsy. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Patricia in the last five years, 9 were named Patsy, against 3 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pat · also for Patrick | Traditional | — | — |
| Patty · also for Martha | Traditional | #16,671 | 18 |
| Trish | Traditional | — | — |
| Tricia | Traditional | #8,819 | 31 |
| Patsy | Traditional | #6,059 | 92 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Patricias go by each one.
Patricia popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 4,961 since 1917.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,336 | 167 |
| 2020 | #1,117 | 217 |
| 2010 | #617 | 479 |
| 2000 | #226 | 1,393 |
| 1990 | #97 | 3,579 |
| 1980 | #51 | 5,310 |
| 1970 | #24 | 13,406 |
| 1960 | #7 | 32,113 |
| 1950 | #3 | 47,944 |
| 1940 | #3 | 32,665 |
| 1930 | #7 | 15,751 |
| 1920 | #104 | 2,502 |
| 1910 | #206 | 316 |
| 1900 | #362 | 87 |
| 1890 | #864 | 11 |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Patricia, counting every spelling?
Patricia has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #1,256 for girls in 2025, against #1,336 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Patricia?
167 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Patricia (0.05 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Patricia born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 50 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Patricia.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Patricia?
About 1,005,200 people born in the US named Patricia are alive today, with a median age of 71; half are between 62 and 78. That makes Patricia a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Patricia by state
How common Patricia was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Arizona (1.8×). In 26 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Patricia: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Patricia, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Patricia · Sibling names for Patricia
Questions about the name Patricia
What does Patricia mean?
Patricia means “noble, patrician” (Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Patricia?
Patricia was the 1336th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 167 babies. Its best year was 1937, when it ranked 3rd; the most babies were born in 1951 (56,446). Over the last ten years it has moved down 534 places. More babies were named Patricia in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Patricia a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Patricia in the US.
Where is Patricia most popular?
In 2021–2025, Patricia was most common in Mississippi (0.23 per 1,000 girls), followed by Arizona and Virginia.