girl's name
Leticia
luh-TEE-shuh
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 45,992
Ireland
#893
2007 births
Leticia means joy, and Napoleon's mother carried it — Letizia Ramolino outlived her son and was styled Madame Mère de l'Empereur, a title created for her alone. The Latin laetitia is the abstract noun for gladness, and joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians.
- Leticia is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 1980, when 1,079 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 27,628 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1916.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Leticia over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 19 |
| 1920s | 49 |
| 1930s | 129 |
| 1940s | 352 |
| 1950s | 3,704 |
| 1960s | 8,348 |
| 1970s | 10,231 |
| 1980s | 8,239 |
| 1990s | 6,324 |
| 2000s | 3,503 |
| 2010s | 1,575 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 726 |
What Leticia means
Leticia means joy or gladness. The Latin laetitia is the abstract noun, so the name carries the quality directly rather than describing someone who feels it.
Where Leticia comes from
Leticia is the Spanish form of the Latin laetitia, joy or gladness, from laetus, glad. It was taken up as a Christian name because joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians. Letizia Ramolino, Napoleon's mother, was given the unique title Madame Mère de l'Empereur and outlived him by eighteen years. The Spanish and Italian forms account for most modern use.
Leticia in use
Leticia peaked in the United States in 1980, when 1,079 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 1606th in France on 20 births, 1703rd in the United States on 120 and 2307th in England and Wales on 12, across 45,992 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1916.
How popular is Leticia?
In 2025, Leticia was given to 120 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Leticia is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Leticia is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Léticia | Léticia is a rare spelling of Leticia, written with an acute accent and recorded about 140 times, mostly in France. | 140 |
Names that peaked alongside Leticia
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Leticia also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Leticia over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Leticia
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Leticia in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Leticia
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Leticia — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Leticia
What does the name Leticia mean?
Joy — the Latin laetitia, from laetus, glad.
Who was Letizia Bonaparte?
Napoleon's mother, styled Madame Mère de l'Empereur, who outlived him by eighteen years.
Is Lettice the same name?
Yes — the old English form of the same Latin word.
How popular is Leticia?
1703rd in the United States, down from a 1980 peak of 1,079 births.
Is Leticia a girl's or a boy's name?
Leticia is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Leticia?
Leticia has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Leticia?
Leticia is usually shortened to Lety.
Is Leticia a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Leticia currently ranks #1,196 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.