Monica is a female given name with many variant forms, including Monica (Italian), Mónica (Spanish and Portuguese), Mônica (Brazilian Portuguese), Monique (French), Monika (German and Lithuanian), Moonika (Estonian), and Mónika (Hungarian).
History The etymology of Monica is unknown. Its earliest known attestation is as the name of Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine, in the Latin language. St. Monica was born in Roman Africa, but was also a citizen of Carthage, hence the name may be of Punic or Berber origin. It has also been associated with the Greek word monos, meaning "alone".
One of the early occurrences of the name in modern literature is the character Monica Thorne in the 1858 novel Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope.
Popularity In the United States, the name's popularity reached a peak in 1977, when it was the 39th most popular female name for new births. The popularity has gradually waned since then, being 76th most popular in 1990, and 363rd in 2010."Popular Baby Names", United States Social Security Administration, search term: "Monica". Retrieved 21 July 2011.
Name day In the European tradition of name day celebration, the date for the name Monica or Monika varies from country to country:
4 May: Hungary, Sweden 7 May: Slovakia 21 May: Czech Republic 15 June: Finland, Greece 27 August: Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain 6 October: Latvia
In Finland the version with one "o" belongs to the name day calendar of Swedish-speaking population, for Finland is a bilingual country. The name written with double-o, i.e. "Moonika" (as it would be pronounced anyway), has an unofficial name day on the same day, but the double-o version is less common.
Notable people
Monica Abbott (born 1985), American softball player Mónica Aguilar Bonilla (born 1980), Costa Rican archaeologist Mònica Aguilera Viladomiu (born 1974), Spanish mountain and raid runner Monica Aksamit (born 1990), American fencer Monica Aldama (born 1972), American cheerleading coach Mónica Alemán, Ecuadorian politician Monica Ali (born 1967), British author Monica Allanach (1920–2013), British actuary Monica Allison, American actress Mónica Alonso (born 1998), Spanish rhythmic gymnast Mónica Alvarado (born 1991), Mexican footballer Mónica Álvarez de Mon (born 1955), Spanish tennis player Monica Amekoafia (1934–1990), winner of the first Miss Ghana edition Monica Andersson (born 1953), Swedish orienteering competitor Monica Anghel (born 1971), Romanian musical artist Monica Anisie (born 1973), Romanian politician Mónica Antich (born 1966), Spanish synchronized swimmer Monica Arac de Nyeko (born 1979), Ugandan writer Mónica Arango, Colombian synchronized swimmer Mónica Araya, Costa Rican activist Monica Arnold (born 1980), American singer, professionally known as "Monica" Mónica Arreola, visual artist, architect and gallery director Mónica Arriola Gordillo (1971–2016), Mexican politician Monica Asman (1920–2016), American Catholic nun and research scientist Monica Aspelund (born 1946), Finnish singer Mónica Astorga Cremona, Argentine Carmelite Monica Attard (born 1958), Australian journalist and academic Mónica Ayos, Argentine actress Mónica Azón (born 1972), Spanish sailor Monica Babuc (born 1964), Moldovan politician and historian Monica Bachmann (born 1942), Swiss horse rider Monica Baly (1914–1998), English nurse and historian Monica Bandini (1964–2021), Italian road racing cyclist Monica Bannister, American actress Monica Barbaro (born 1990), American actress Monica Barham (1920–1983), New Zealand architect Monica Barnes (1936–2018), Irish politician Monica Bascio (born 1969), American Paralympic cyclist and skier Monica Baskin, American psychologist Monica Bastiani (born 1964), Italian basketball player Monica Bedi (born 1975), Indian actress and television presenter Monica Beletsky, American television producer and screenwriter Monica Bello, several people Monica Bellucci (born 1964), Italian actress Monica Beltran (born 1985), American soldier Mônica Benício, Brazilian architect and politician Monica Berg, Norwegian bartender Monica Bergamelli (born 1984), Italian artistic gymnast Mònica Bernabé (born 1972), Spanish journalist Monica Bertagnolli (born 1959), American surgical oncologist Mónica Bertolino (born 1957), Argentinian architect Mónica Bettencourt-Dias, Portuguese biochemist and cellular biologist Monica Bharel, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Monica Bhide, American engineer and writer Monica Biernat, American social psychologist Monica Bîrlădeanu (born 1978), Romanian actress and model Monica Birwinyo (born 1990), Ugandan actress Monica Bisordi (born 1982), American artistic gymnast Monica Blank, American electrical engineer Monica Bleibtreu (1944–2009), Austrian-German actress and screenwriter Monica Boggioni (born 1998), Italian Paralympic swimmer Mònica Bonell Tuset (born 1971), Andorran politician Monica Bonon (born 1964), Italian swimmer Monica Bonvicini (born 1965), Italian artist Mónica Bosch (born 1972), Spanish alpine skier Monica Jahan Bose, Bangladeshi artist and climate activist Mónica Bottero, Uruguayan journalist, writer and politician Monica Boyar (1920–2013), American singer Monica Brant (born 1970), American fitness/figure competitor and model Monica Brewster (1886–1973), New Zealand arts patron and women's rights advocate Monica Bridges (1863–1949), pianist and composer, wife of Robert Bridges Mónica Briones (1950–1984), Chilean painter and sculptor Monica Bristow, American politician Monica Brown, several people Monica Buonfiglio, Brazilian writer Monica Byrne (born 1981), American playwright and science fiction author Mónica Cabrera (born 1958), Argentinian writer and actor Monica Cafferky, British freelance journalist Mónica Cahen D'Anvers (born 1934), Argentine journalist Monica Calhoun (born 1971), American film and television actress Monica Calzetta Ruiz (born 1972), Spanish chess player Monica Caprini (born 1974), Italian women's international footballer Mónica Carrillo (born 1976), Spanish journalist and novelist Mónica Carrió (born 1977), Spanish weightlifter Mônica Carvalho (born 1971), Brazilian actress and former model Monica Casiraghi, Italian ultra runner Mónica Castaño (born 1989), Colombian model Monica Castelino, Indian actress Monica Cavanagh, Australian nun Monica Chakwera, spouse of the president of Malawi Monica Chan (born 1966), Hong Kong actress and spokesperson Monica Chang'anamuno, politician in Malawi Monica Chaudhary (born 1985), Indian actress Monica Chibita, Ugandan academic Monica Chinnakotla, Indian actress Monica Chintu, Zambian politician Monica Chitupila, Mozambican independence activist and politician Mónica Chuji (born 1973), Ecuadorian politician Monica Cirinnà (born 1963), Italian politician Monica Cirulli (born 1982), Italian synchronized swimmer Mónica Clapp, Mexican mathematician Monica Clare (1924–c. 1973), aboriginal political activist and author Monica Geike Cobb (1891–1946), English barrister Monica Coghlan, English prostitute Monica Cole (1922–1994), English geographer Monica Coleman, American theologian Monica Collingwood (1908–1989), American film editor Monica De Coninck (born 1956), Belgian politician Monica Conti (born 1964), Italian long-distance runner Monica Contrafatto (born 1981), Italian Paralympic athlete Monica Conyers (born 1965), American politician from Detroit, Michigan Monica Covacci (born 1971), Canadian artistic gymnast Monica Cox, engineer Monica Craciun, British-Romanian physicist and academic Mónica Astorga Cremona (born 1967), Argentine nun Monica Crowley (born 1968), American conservative pundit and television personality Mónica Cruz (born 1977), Spanish actress Monica De La Cruz (born 1974), American politician Monica Csengeri (born 1996), Romanian weightlifter Monica Cuenco (born 1994), Filipino singer Monica Cyrino, American classical scholar Monica Dacon (born 1934), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines schoolteacher, educator and politician Monica Dahl (born 1975), Namibian swimmer Monica Das, Indian economist Monica Day (born 1982), American broadcaster and beauty queen Monica Desai, Indian actress Monica Dickens (1915–1992), British author of books for adults and children Mónica Dionne (born 1967), American actress Monica Dogra (born 1982), American actress Monica Dolan (born 1969), English actress Monica Dolinsky, American association football player Mónica Domínguez Blanco (1984–2022), Spanish journalist Monica Dominique (born 1940), Swedish actor Monica Dongban-Mensem, Nigerian judge Mònica Dòria (born 1999), Andorran slalom canoeist Mónica Dossetti (born 1966), Mexican actress Monica Doti (born 1970), Brazilian table tennis player Monica Drake (journalist), American journalist and managing editor Monica Drake, American fiction writer Monica Duran (born 1960), American politician Mónica Echeverría (1920–2020), Chilean journalist Monica Edmondson (born 1963), Sami glass artist Monica Edwards (1912–1998), British children's author Monica Elfvin (born 1938), Swedish gymnast Monica Ell-Kanayuk, Canadian politician Monica Enlid (born 1973), Norwegian footballer Mónica Equihua (born 1982), Mexican race-walker Monica Esposito (1962–2011), Italian Chinese religious scholar Mónica Estarreado (born 1975), Spanish actress Monica Evans (born 1940), British actress Monica Faenzi (born 1965), Italian politician Mónica Falcioni (born 1968), Uruguayan long and triple jumper Monica Falkner, New Zealand netball player Mónica Farro (born 1976), Uruguayan model and actress Mónica Fechino (born 1967), Argentine windsurfer Mónica Fein (born 1957), Argentine politician Monica Felton (1906–1970), British writer, town planner, feminist and social activist Mónica Feria Tinta (born 1966), British/Peruvian barrister, public international law specialist Mónica Fernández, several people Mónica Ferrández (born 1974), Spanish rhythmic gymnast and trainer Monica Ferrell, American poet and fiction writer Monica Flaherty Frassetto (1920–2008), American filmmaker and archaeologist Monica Fletcher, British nurse Monica Mădălina Florea (born 1993), Romanian long-distance runner Mónica Flores (born 1996), Mexican footballer Mónica Fonseca (born 1982), Colombian-American television presenter, journalist and blogger Monica Di Fonzo (born 1977), Swiss footballer and manager Monica Forsberg (born 1950), Swedish singer, songwriter and actress Mónica Edith Frade, Argentine politician Monica Frassoni (born 1963), Italian politician Monica J. Freeman, African-American filmmaker Monica Friday, Nigerian film actress, influencer, realtor, model and producer Monica Furlong (1930–2003), British author, journalist, poet and women's activist Monica Gagliano (born 1976), Italian ecologist Mónica Galán (1950–2019), Argentine actress Monica Galetti (born 1975), Samoan-born New Zealand chef Monica Gallagher (1923–2013), Australian community worker Monica Gandhi, American physician and academic researcher Mónica García (born 1974), Spanish politician Mónica García de la Fuente (born 1980), Mexican politician and lawyer Monica Kim Garza, American painter Monica Garza, Mexican artist Monica Gåsvatn (born 1968), Norwegian politician Monica Gayle, American television news anchor Monica Gaylord (born 1948), Canadian pianist Monica Geingos (born 1976), First Lady of Namibia Monica De Gennaro (born 1987), Italian volleyball player Mónica Gerardo (born 1976), American-Mexican footballer Monica Germino, American Dutch musician Monica Gesue, American writer and illustrator Monica Geuze (born 1995), Dutch television presenter and former vlogger and DJ Monica Gill (born 1990), American model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder Monica Giorgi (born 1946), Italian tennis player Mónica Godoy (born 1976), Chilean actress