Monique
Feminine
Monique is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 78,783 girls against 377 boys since 1880.
Monique is the French form of Monica, and Monica is a name whose origin nobody has recovered — which is remarkable, given that its most famous bearer is the mother of one of the most-read writers in Western history.
How old is the name Monique?
Monique first appears in US birth records in 1909 — 116 years ago. The typical Monique alive today was born around 1982, making them about 43 years old. About 75,500 people named Monique are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Monique most popular?
Monique peaked in 1980, reaching #93 nationally. Today it ranks #3342, 3,249 places below that high. See the whole 1980 chart.
Monique appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Monica to Monique
The story of Monique
Monica of Hippo appears at length in her son Augustine's Confessions, which is one of the reasons so much is known about her life and so little about her name. The name spread through the medieval church and was taken up strongly in France, where Monique became the standard form. French names were fashionable in mid-century America, and Monique arrived with them, rising through the 1960s and 1970s to a peak around 1980.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Not established. Monica was a Berber woman from North Africa, and her name is most likely Punic or Berber rather than Latin, which means the sources that would explain it are largely lost. Later writers connected it to the Greek monos, 'alone', or to the Latin monere, 'to advise' — both of them guesses working backwards from the spelling.
How the name formed
- Monica
- Monique
Related forms: Monique · Mónica · Monica · Monika
Pronouncing Monique
moh-NEEK
Two syllables, stress on the second. English and French agree closely on this one, which is unusual for a French borrowing.
Nicknames for Monique
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
- 1909
- Most girls named
- 19803,163 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #93reached in 1980
- Change vs 2023
- +35.3%46 in 2025, from 34
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.
Monique in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Monique in French — same name
- Mónica in Spanish — related form
- Monica in Italian — related form
- Monika in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Arizona.
Moniques among us
people named Monique are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 34,941 born in 2025 was named Monique
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Colleen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Monique's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Colleen climbed just as high around 1965, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Colleen's path sketches the road Monique is walking now.
Monique sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Monique is headed
Monique should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Monique beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Monique in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The French form is used and understood across a very large part of the world.
- The end-stressed rhythm is distinctive and holds up well against a long surname.
- Monica is available as the longer form in almost every European language.
- The name has no recovered meaning, which matters to families for whom that is the point.
- In American use it is closely associated with the 1970s and 1980s.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Monique to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Monique? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Monique
Feminine · #3342 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Moniques are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 75,500 people named Monique are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Monique in 2025?
- Monique ranks #3342 among US girl names in 2025, with 46 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Monique?
- About 1 in every 34,941 US girls born in 2025 was named Monique — 46 in all.
- Will my child share the name Monique with classmates?
- Monique will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Monique
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zorah#3342 · Kinleigh#3342 · Emmelyn#3342 · Zyana#3342 · Swara#3342 · Azaleah#3342 · Kamiah#3342 · Elenora#3342
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Monique? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Monique and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle