Letitia
Feminine · “joy”
Letitia is joy in Latin — laetitia, an ordinary noun that medieval England turned into a name and then wore down in speech to Lettice.
How old is the name Letitia?
Letitia was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Letitia alive today was born around 1965, making them about 60 years old. About 8,200 people named Letitia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Letitia most popular?
Letitia peaked in 1880, reaching #342 nationally. See the whole 1880 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From laetitia to Letitia
The story of Letitia
Laetitia was used as a name in medieval England and became Lettice in speech — Lettice Knollys was one of the great Elizabethan court figures. The Latin spelling was restored in the nineteenth century, and Spanish and Italian kept Leticia and Letizia. American use of Letitia peaked around 1885.
Meaning
joy, gladness
From the Latin laetitia, 'joy' or 'gladness', from laetus, 'glad'. The word is ordinary Latin and the meaning entirely transparent. The English spoken form Lettice was standard for centuries, and its collision with the vegetable is a coincidence of English sound change.
How the name formed
- laetitia
- Lettice
- Letitia
Related forms: Leticia · Letizia · Lettice
Pronouncing Letitia
luh-TISH-uh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Spanish Leticia says le-TEE-see-a with four.
Nicknames for Letitia
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1965281 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #342reached in 1880
- Change vs 2018
- −12.5%7 in 2024, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Letitia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Leticia in Spanish — related form
- Letizia in Italian — related form
- Lettice in English — related form
Letitias among us
people named Letitia are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Letitia sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The joy meaning is transparent, undisputed and about as good as meanings get.
- Lettie and Tish are two short forms at very different registers.
- It is standard in Spanish and Italian with minimal change.
- The old English form Lettice collides with a vegetable, which shadows the name.
- Leticia and Latisha are close enough to cause confusion.
- It is strongly period-coded to the nineteenth century.
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Letitia
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Letitias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 8,200 people named Letitia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Letitia in 2025?
- Letitia is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Letitia with classmates?
- Letitia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Linda#902 · Lisa#987 · Laura#379 · Lauren#401 · Lillian#57 · Lori#1721 · Louise#514 · Lois#1666
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Letitia? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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