girl's name
Patricia
pa-TRISH-uh
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 8
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 1,802,505
Northern Ireland
#385
2020 births
Patricia is a girl's name from the Latin for noble or patrician, the feminine of Patrick. It has 1,798,702 recorded births yet now ranks 1338th in the United States, which is one of the steepest falls from that volume anywhere in our data.
- Patricia is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1951, when 56,574 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 19,853 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1884.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Patricia over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 58 |
| 1890s | 330 |
| 1900s | 1,336 |
| 1910s | 9,726 |
| 1920s | 74,940 |
| 1930s | 221,370 |
| 1940s | 412,654 |
| 1950s | 460,702 |
| 1960s | 231,904 |
| 1970s | 81,549 |
| 1980s | 45,501 |
| 1990s | 24,248 |
| 2000s | 9,335 |
| 2010s | 3,731 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,200 |
What Patricia means
Patricia means noble, or of the patrician class. The Latin word names a specific hereditary rank in Rome rather than nobility as a general quality, so the sense is closer to well-born than to admirable.
Where Patricia comes from
Patricia is the feminine of the Latin patricius, a member of the patrician order — the hereditary aristocracy of the Roman Republic, distinguished from the plebeians and originally the only class eligible for the senate and priesthoods. The word is built on pater, father, because a patrician was one who could name his fathers. The masculine gave Patrick through the Romano-British missionary who became Ireland's patron saint, and the feminine circulated separately, gaining ground in Britain after Princess Patricia of Connaught, a granddaughter of Victoria, was born in 1886. The Irish association arrived later and secondhand, through Patrick rather than through any Irish use of the feminine.
Patricia in use
Patricia peaked in the United States in 1951, when 56,574 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 1338th in the United States on 167 births, 697th in Ireland, 1445th in England and Wales and 2255th in France. The distance between 1,798,702 lifetime births and a current position outside the American top 1,300 is among the sharpest declines of any name we hold, and it charts in five of the seven markets.
How popular is Patricia?
In 2025, Patricia was given to 167 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Patricia 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.
Names that peaked alongside Patricia
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Patricia also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Patricia over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
5 nicknames for Patricia
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.
Patricia 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 Patricia
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Patricia — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Patricia
What does the name Patricia mean?
Noble, or of the patrician class — the Roman hereditary aristocracy.
Is Patricia an Irish name?
Only indirectly. Patrick is Irish by association with the saint; the feminine is Latin and reached Britain through the royal family.
How popular is Patricia?
1338th in the United States, down from a 1951 peak of 56,574 births — one of the steepest declines we record.
What are the nicknames for Patricia?
Pat, Trish, Patsy and Tricia are all long established.
Is Patricia a girl's or a boy's name?
Patricia is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Patricia?
Patricia has 3 syllables.
Is Patricia a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Patricia currently ranks #697 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.