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Monica as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Monica

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The baby name Monica is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced MON-i-kə (English: /ˈmɒnɪkə/ or /ˈmɑːnɪkə/).

Monica is Latin in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 3.0
Origin: Latin
Pronunciation: MON-i-kə (English: /ˈmɒnɪkə/ or /ˈmɑːnɪkə/)

What is the meaning of the name Monica ?

The baby name Monica is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced MON-i-kə (English: /ˈmɒnɪkə/ or /ˈmɑːnɪkə/).

Monica is Latin in Origin.

Monica is a feminine given name anchored in late antiquity through Saint Monica of Hippo, the 4th‑century mother of Augustine. Its etymology is debated: it may derive from Latin monere “to advise, warn,” yielding the sense “advisor” or “counselor”; some connect it to Greek monos “alone, unique”; others point to a North African (Punic/Berber) source reflecting Saint Monica’s heritage. All strands highlight steadfastness and guidance.

The name spread across Christian Europe, flourishing in Italy and the Iberian world (Mónica in Spanish, Mónica/Mônica in Portuguese), and in Central, Slavic, and Nordic languages as Monika; French uses Monique. English adoption is documented by the 18th century, with strong mid‑20th‑century usage in the United States and elsewhere. Short forms include Moni, Mona, and Nika. Variants: Monica, Mónica, Mônica, Monika, Monique. Saint Monica’s feast day is 27 August, cementing its enduring devotional appeal.

Monica has the following similar or variant Names

Monica – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2023 #1 — 897
FJ 0 #6 1 374
KH Girls 0 #6 1 148
KR 0 #8 1 201
AR Girls 0 #11 8,272 8,289
SV Girls 0 #11 8 458
EC Girls 0 #17 576 3,650
UY Girls 0 #17 4,951 6,731
BW 0 #18 2 960
HT Girls 0 #21 3 950
NA 0 #23 11 2,537
NA Girls 0 #25 413 7,146
CL Girls 0 #27 14,790 14,098
IT Girls 0 #27 108,972 9,415
BN 0 #31 2 2,297
BI Girls 0 #32 2 726
BO Girls 0 #34 3,798 9,488
MT Girls 0 #34 161 3,773
Spain Girls 0 #36 20,700 5,561
ID 0 #36 4 2,238
EE 0 #37 1 1,051
CO Girls 0 #38 28,284 16,140
HN Girls 0 #38 1 884
MT 0 #38 6 1,767
MO 0 #41 12 2,706
BI Boys 0 #44 1 917
BW Girls 0 #45 116 4,216
PR 0 #45 11 1,497
ZA Girls 0 #46 7,388 25,928
AR 0 #49 177 2,915
PE Girls 0 #49 8,883 14,861
ID Girls 0 #50 50 3,319
HN Boys 0 #52 1 749
LU 0 #52 15 2,830
MX Girls 0 #52 17,604 17,781
CO 0 #54 2,314 7,768
CY 0 #54 7 1,632
IT 0 #54 6,568 4,183
CM 0 #55 2 2,592
CR 0 #55 111 5,526
PA 0 #55 78 3,797
GT Girls 0 #59 1,295 7,500
PA Girls 0 #59 1,175 9,861
MX 0 #62 860 8,339
PH 0 #63 34 5,607
CY Girls 0 #64 61 3,755
PT Girls 0 #64 2,608 7,952
EC 0 #65 52 2,502
Spain 0 #65 1,171 2,326
JP 0 #65 13 4,057
AO 0 #66 11 2,729
TW 0 #67 34 4,523
UY 0 #68 127 2,477
IN 0 #69 3 2,963
JM 0 #69 19 3,714
LU Girls 0 #69 137 4,850
GH Girls 0 #70 773 6,973
CN 0 #71 15 3,857
MU Girls 0 #72 575 8,539
TW Girls 0 #72 274 8,139
CR Girls 0 #74 1,306 11,342
AZ Girls 0 #75 1 1,051
BG 0 #77 6 1,799
CN Girls 0 #80 553 8,829
PE 0 #80 344 6,350
JM Girls 0 #83 249 7,507
CL 0 #85 799 6,867
BN Girls 0 #86 21 5,459
LT 0 #88 1 949
MD Girls 0 #89 4 865
AF Girls 0 #92 3 2,402
BO 0 #96 452 6,868
OM 0 #97 20 6,215
KW 0 #101 16 5,216
PR Girls 0 #101 63 3,171
QA 0 #101 6 7,011
SD 0 #102 1 2,130
GE Girls 0 #103 6 1,564
MU 0 #103 34 3,613
HU 0 #110 6 1,675
BR Girls 0 #113 4,545 12,708
AO Girls 0 #115 103 4,575
PT 0 #116 186 4,161
GH 0 #124 138 5,396
JP Girls 0 #125 136 6,592
Norway Girls 2017 #128 4 477
GR 0 #129 7 3,911
Switzerland Girls 2024 #131 5 1,786
CY Boys 0 #131 1 3,473
IQ 0 #132 2 3,533
EE Girls 0 #136 7 1,888
BN Boys 0 #138 2 6,332
DK Girls 0 #139 228 7,429
GT 0 #139 206 5,948
AE 0 #147 31 10,220
BW Boys 0 #151 4 4,685
DK 0 #154 50 5,198
PH Girls 0 #154 279 13,098
MO Girls 0 #155 99 7,056
NG Girls 0 #161 2,175 15,093
BR 0 #165 209 5,969
Finland Girls 0 #168 420 1,368
SI Girls 0 #171 7 2,769
CZ 0 #176 10 3,154
GR Girls 0 #176 67 6,293
HR 0 #176 6 2,081
MT Boys 0 #177 3 4,064
PR Boys 0 #177 2 2,508
ZA 0 #178 291 14,421
BG Girls 0 #181 43 3,559
SG Girls 0 #182 632 18,916
LT Girls 0 #185 10 1,904
Sweden Girls 2018 #186 3 1,665
HK Girls 0 #187 795 16,104
RU 0 #188 7 3,641
SG 0 #192 78 11,010
PS 0 #195 24 5,692
Austria 0 #201 13 850
EG Girls 0 #201 2,802 14,742
QA Girls 0 #201 117 15,378
PL 0 #203 10 2,600
OM Girls 0 #207 195 15,987
HU Girls 0 #211 13 3,308
HK 0 #213 147 8,483
NL Girls 0 #218 1,799 5,933
BG Boys 0 #220 1 3,850
IR 0 #224 8 4,221
AL Girls 0 #225 3 4,141
SD Girls 0 #228 119 7,678
AE Girls 0 #229 361 20,968
EG 0 #230 209 6,387
Finland Girls 2026 #230 1,664 3,895
NG 0 #230 35 5,926
IL 0 #234 41 6,291
KW Girls 0 #236 312 19,177
BD 0 #237 5 5,992
EC Boys 0 #239 8 3,322
MY 0 #243 88 12,352
NA Boys 0 #245 9 6,830
Canada Girls 2024 #246 40 2,795
MY Girls 0 #247 1,401 24,821
Finland 0 #248 60 830
AO Boys 0 #249 1 5,568
HR Girls 0 #259 31 3,687
NL 0 #262 135 2,481
GR Boys 0 #273 1 6,912
CZ Girls 0 #278 65 5,378
Austria Girls 0 #284 141 1,885
SA 0 #284 12 10,560
PL Girls 0 #288 67 5,096
JM Boys 0 #290 4 6,876
KZ Boys 0 #296 1 6,578
KZ Girls 0 #299 22 5,862
AL Boys 0 #303 1 5,122
JP Boys 0 #303 1 7,909
CZ Boys 0 #305 1 6,530
JO Girls 0 #307 19 7,570
GH Boys 0 #319 27 8,138
CN Boys 0 #327 5 9,639
DK Boys 0 #331 2 7,401
PT Boys 0 #351 17 7,951
UY Boys 0 #352 48 5,922
BD Girls 0 #359 28 8,413
IN Girls 0 #363 299 13,121
MU Boys 0 #368 2 8,477
CM Girls 0 #369 177 11,671
Germany 0 #372 66 2,542
YE 0 #372 10 8,639
PS Girls 0 #376 152 10,981
France Girls 2021 #378 28 3,185
AR Boys 0 #380 89 7,628
IL Girls 0 #380 264 11,648
Germany Girls 0 #382 645 4,949
PH Boys 0 #400 9 11,440
RU Girls 0 #419 80 11,913
GT Boys 0 #457 18 7,625
IR Girls 0 #458 73 8,334
SD Boys 0 #462 5 10,523
PA Boys 0 #471 11 9,305
BH 0 #480 74 17,937
IQ Girls 0 #486 19 11,303
CR Boys 0 #504 7 10,188
SA Girls 0 #511 460 25,931
HK Boys 0 #518 10 12,905
LY 0 #519 17 12,703
RU Boys 0 #524 3 12,621
LB 0 #533 126 13,263
CM Boys 0 #538 13 12,054
BO Boys 0 #547 46 9,244
United States Girls 2024 #552 388 8,487
PS Boys 0 #558 4 10,655
CL Boys 0 #561 105 13,390
IR Boys 0 #563 3 10,162
IL Boys 0 #621 5 10,983
CO Boys 0 #638 305 15,656
SG Boys 0 #685 13 17,960
IQ Boys 0 #694 4 13,071
BR Boys 0 #698 54 12,213
TN 0 #712 118 13,765
SY 0 #717 12 11,684
QA Boys 0 #735 9 18,093
KW Boys 0 #743 27 18,755
MX Boys 0 #788 198 16,355
PE Boys 0 #790 89 14,506
Spain Boys 0 #821 110 5,610
United States Boys 2004 #824 9 7,246
OM Boys 0 #842 40 17,948
EG Boys 0 #854 33 15,035
NG Boys 0 #909 43 16,906
ZA Boys 0 #976 203 25,619
IT Boys 0 #1,016 468 10,046
IN Boys 0 #1,034 6 16,750
MA 0 #1,057 72 20,986
MY Boys 0 #1,075 37 25,439
DZ 0 #1,082 95 20,130
AE Boys 0 #1,138 6 22,615
TR 0 #1,143 69 19,440
SA Boys 0 #1,581 34 28,008

Monica is popular in 95 countries — most recent births per country:

France
Norway
Ireland
Scotland, United Kingdom
Canada

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People also ask about Monica

Monica is predominantly a girl's name.
Monica is a 3 syllable name, pronounced MON-i-kə (English: /ˈmɒnɪkə/ or /ˈmɑːnɪkə/).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Monika, Mónica, Monique, Moonika, Moni and Nica.
Yes, very popular — Monica ranked #1 in Ireland in 2023, and appears in official birth registries across 10 countries.
Monica ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2023).
Monica's popularity is holding steady. It moved from #1 in 2013 to #1 in 2023 in Ireland.