Astraea
A feminine name of Greek mythology meaning "star maiden" or "starry night".
Name Census estimates that about 582 living Americans carry the first name Astraea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Astraea today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Astraea births was 2024 (91 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Astraea. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
582
~ 1 in 588,925 Americans
Peak year
2024
91 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,096
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Astraea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Astraea from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 362 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Astraea by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Astraea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Astraeas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Astraea, while Utah, New York, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Astraea
The name Astraea has its origins in Greek mythology. It is derived from the ancient Greek word "astra," meaning "stars." Astraea was the virgin goddess of innocence, purity, and justice in Greek mythology.
During the Golden Age, Astraea lived among mortals, but as humanity became wicked and unjust, she left the earth and ascended to the heavens to become the constellation Virgo. The name Astraea symbolizes virtue, righteousness, and the ideal of justice.
The earliest known record of the name Astraea appears in the ancient Greek poet Hesiod's "Works and Days," written around the 8th century BCE. Hesiod described Astraea as the daughter of the Titan gods Astraeus and Eos (the goddess of dawn).
In the 1st century CE, the Roman poet Ovid referred to Astraea in his "Metamorphoses," portraying her as the last of the immortals to abandon the earth due to the prevalence of wickedness among humans.
Throughout history, the name Astraea has been bestowed upon several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded persons with this name was Astraea of Alexandria (fl. 4th century CE), a Neoplatonist philosopher and scholar.
Another notable bearer of the name was Astraea Tanahill (1556-1623), a Scottish noblewoman and landowner who was involved in the Glenshee Witch Trials.
In the 18th century, Astraea Hill Granger (1734-1807) was an American writer and poet who published under the pseudonym "A Lady of Massachusetts."
The English novelist and playwright Aphra Behn (1640-1689) used the name Astraea as a pseudonym for some of her works, reflecting her interest in the goddess of justice.
More recently, Astraea Polari (1920-2003) was an American astrologer and author who wrote several books on astrology and the occult.
People
Astraea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Astraea as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Astraea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Astraea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 582 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Astraea going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 588,925 US residents.
Is Astraea a common name?
We classify Astraea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 586 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Astraea most popular?
The single biggest year for Astraea was 2024, when 91 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Astraea is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Astraea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Astraea in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.