Caira
Of Irish origin, meaning "follower" or "descendant".
Name Census estimates that about 863 living Americans carry the first name Caira. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caira today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caira births was 2005 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caira. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Caira with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
863
~ 1 in 397,166 Americans
Peak year
2005
40 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,190
Tracked since 1977
Census
Caira in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 733 people with the first name Caira, which placed it at #15,631 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,631
National first-name rank
People counted
733
733 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
40.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caira
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caira is Black at 40.1%. The next largest groups are White (30.0%) and Hispanic (16.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Caira described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Caira at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American40.1% · 294
- White30.0% · 220
- Hispanic or Latino16.5% · 121
- Two or more races8.7% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 6
Popularity
Caira: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caira from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 304 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caira 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 Caira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cairas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Florida, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Caira, while Michigan, New York, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caira
The name Caira is believed to have its origins in the ancient Celtic languages, specifically Gaelic and Irish. It is thought to be derived from the old Irish word "caor," which means "berry" or "small fruit." This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a descriptive term or nickname for someone with a ruddy complexion or rosy cheeks, resembling the color of berries.
During the medieval period, the name Caira was primarily found in Ireland and Scotland, where it was commonly used by families with Celtic roots. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in ancient Irish annals and genealogical records dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Caira was Caira of Connacht, a 12th-century Irish noblewoman and chieftain who played a significant role in the struggles against the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. She is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles for her leadership and resistance against the invading forces.
In the 16th century, a Scottish woman named Caira MacDonald was known for her skills as a healer and herbalist. Her knowledge of medicinal plants and traditional remedies was widely respected, and she was often sought out for her expertise in treating various ailments.
Another prominent figure with the name Caira was Caira O'Donnell, a 17th-century Irish poet and bardic composer. Her works, which celebrated the culture and traditions of her people, were highly regarded and helped preserve the rich literary heritage of Ireland during a turbulent period in its history.
In the 19th century, Caira McNeill was a notable Irish-American suffragist and activist for women's rights. She was actively involved in the women's suffrage movement in the United States and worked tirelessly to secure the right to vote for women.
Caira Flanagan, born in 1892, was an Irish-American labor organizer and union leader. She played a crucial role in advocating for better working conditions and fair wages for factory workers, particularly in the textile industry, during the early 20th century.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Caira. While the name may have fallen out of widespread use in modern times, its rich cultural heritage and historical significance remain an important part of its legacy.
People
Caira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caira as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Caira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 863 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caira 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 397,166 US residents.
Is Caira a common name?
We classify Caira as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 882 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caira most popular?
The single biggest year for Caira was 2005, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caira is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caira in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 733 people with the name Caira, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,631 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Caira in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Caira?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caira leans strongly female. 731 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 9 male bearers (1.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Caira?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caira is Black at 40.1%. The next largest groups are White (30.0%) and Hispanic (16.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Caira most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Caira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.1% (294 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Caira in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caira a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caira 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.
Is Caira still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caira in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Caira can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are called Caira?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.