Monica

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Monika in PL Poland, IN India, HU Hungary and 5 more and Monique in FR France, LT Lithuania.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 15 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Monica is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name180K records spelled Monica7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Canada

  Also written Mónica, Mònica, Mônica, Mõnica, Moníca

• Indonesian given name46K records spelled Monica9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Malaysia, Spain

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Mónica, Mònica, Mônica, 'Monica, Monica'

• Romanian given name28K records spelled Monica10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Romania, United States, Spain, Italy

  Also written Mónica, Monică, Mònica, Monïca, Mönïcä

• a separate given name4.5K records spelled Monica7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, United States, Peru, Spain

  Also written Mónica, Mònica, Mónîca, M̶o̶n̶i̶c̶a̶, Möñícã

76 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Monica is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, From Lat. Monica; saint Monica, mother of Augustine.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In Italian, Spanish Monica; from the female personal name Monica, the name of the mother of St. Augustine. She was a Carthaginian, so the name may well be of Phoenician origin. However, in the early Middle Ages, it was taken to be a derivative of Latin monere ‘to warn or advise’, and was associated with the spiritual guidance that she gave to her famous son.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• Of uncertain ultimate origin. This was the name of the mother of St Augustine, as transmitted to us by her famous son. She was a citizen of Carthage, so her

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In Italian, var. regional de Monaca.

  as a name·Dicionário dos sobrenomes italianos

• In Italian, from a feminine form of Monico.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 145 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Monicab. 332DZChristian saint; mother of St. Augustine
• Monica Vittib. 1931ITItalian actress (1931–2022)
• Monica Guerritoreb. 1958ITItalian actress, director and playwright
• Monica Belluccib. 1964ITItalian actress and model (born 1964)
• Monica Dolanb. 1969GBBritish actress
• Monica Lewinskyb. 1973USAmerican activist and writer (born 1973)
• Monicab. 1980USAmerican singer and rapper (born 1980)
• Agnes Monicab. 1986IDIndonesian singer and actress
• Monica Niculescub. 1987RORomanian tennis player
• Monica Barbarob. 1990USAmerican actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,687 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Monica?

We estimate roughly 1.3 million people bear Monica (counting its spellings and scripts) across 13 countries in our records.

In which country does Monica have the most bearers?

Monica is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled monica.

Where is Monica most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Monica is densest in the Czechia — about 1 in 84 people — even though Argentina holds more of our records for it.

How common is Monica compared with other names?

In Argentina, Monica is the 72nd most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Monica a male or female name?

Monica is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Monica mean?

Recorded meaning: Latin/possibly Berber: 'counselor'; North African saint and mother of Saint Augustine.