Marica
Feminine · “A form of Maria”
Marica is a Maria in two different languages at once, and it is also the name of a Latin nymph with a grove, a lake and a river of her own — one of the oldest divine names recorded in Italy, and one of the least explained.
How old is the name Marica?
Marica first appears in US birth records in 1938 — 87 years ago. The typical Marica alive today was born around 1975, making them about 50 years old. About 800 people named Marica are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Marica most popular?
Marica peaked in 1974, reaching #2348 nationally. See the whole 1974 chart.
Where it comes from
From Maria to Marica
The story of Marica
The nymph came first by a very long way. Marica had a sacred grove at Minturnae, in the marshes where the Liris reaches the sea, and Virgil made her the mother of Latinus, the king whose daughter Aeneas marries — so she stands at the mythological root of the Latin people. The grove was a genuine cult site with its own rules: nothing taken from it could be carried away. A Roman general in flight from his enemies hid in those marshes, and the story stuck to the place. As a modern name the same spelling does entirely ordinary work — Marica is what a Croatian or Hungarian grandmother is called — and the letter c does three different things in the three languages that use it, saying ts in one, k in another and s in English.
Meaningscholars disagree
A form of Maria, or the name of an Italian nymph
In Croatian, Hungarian and Italian the ending makes it an affectionate Maria. But Marica is also a genuinely ancient name: a local goddess of the marshes at the mouth of the Liris, whose grove was old before Rome mattered, and whose name nobody has satisfactorily explained. Which one a family meant depends on which country it came from.
How the name formed
- Maria
- Marica
Related forms: Marica · Marica · Marica
Pronouncing Marica
MAH-reet-sah
Three syllables. In Croatian and Hungarian the c says ts; American speakers usually say muh-REE-kuh instead, and both are in use here.
Nicknames for Marica
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
- 1938
- Most girls named
- 197433 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2348reached in 1974
- Change vs 2003
- −14.3%6 in 2005, from 7
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.
Marica in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Marica in Croatian — same name
- Marica in Hungarian — same name
- Marica in Italian — same name
Maricas among us
people named Marica 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
Marica 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
- It is a familiar name in an unfamiliar dress, which is a useful combination.
- It carries a genuinely ancient namesake as well as a modern everyday one.
- Every sound in it exists in English, whichever reading of the c is used.
- The c is said three ways in three countries, and she will hear all of them.
- Marissa, Maritza and Marcia are all near neighbors in American ears.
- The two possible origins are a thousand years and a whole tradition apart.
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What they receive
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Marica
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Maricas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Marica are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Marica in 2025?
- Marica is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Marica with classmates?
- Marica will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Marica? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Marica and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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