Patricia

Where the name comes from

• Latin
  patrician, noble
  patricius (feminine patricia), "a patrician," member of Rome’s hereditary aristocracy
  Feminine of Latin patricius, the same word behind the masculine Patrick (Old Irish Patraicc, Irish Pádraig). The DMNES entry for Patrick (dated citations 1189–1578) records no medieval feminine forms.

Patricia across traditions

• Christian / Irish. Patricius is the Latin name of St. Patrick. As a given name Patrick was rare in medieval Ireland and, per etymonline (citing Reaney), became popular there only after 1600.
• British / Canadian. Princess Patricia of Connaught (1886–1974) gave her name to Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in 1914 and to Patricia Bay, British Columbia (renamed in 1912).
• European and Latin American forms. Spelled Patricia in Spanish, French, German and Dutch; Patrícia (Portuguese, Hungarian, Slovak), Patrizia (Italian), Patrycja (Polish), Patricie (Czech), Pádraigín (Irish).
• United States (SSA). 841,215 combined births in the SSA decade top-200 tables, 1950s–2010s. Peak decade 1950s, #3 girls’ name (459,681). Then #6 in the 1960s, #30 in the 1970s, #61 in the 1980s, #133 in the 1990s, and out of the top 200 from the 2000s on.

Who carried it

• Princess Patricia of Connaught (Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth) (1886–1974): Granddaughter of Queen Victoria; namesake of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (1914).

Forms in other languages

Pat, Patsy, Patti, Pattie, Patty, Tricia, Trish, Trisha, Patrizia, Patrícia, Patrycja, Patricie, Patricija, Pádraigín

Patricia in letter-number systems

Hebrew, Greek and other traditions gave every letter a number, and read meaning into the totals. These are the counts, computed; the readings are inside the Innerverse.