Camara
A feminine name of Celtic origin meaning "crooked river" or "winding stream".
Name Census estimates that about 842 living Americans carry the first name Camara. It is a predominantly female name (90.7% of registrations). The average person named Camara today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Camara births was 1994 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Camara. 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
842
~ 1 in 407,072 Americans
Peak year
1994
36 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2001 SSA rank
#10,401
Tracked since 1967
Gender
Gender distribution for Camara
Camara leans heavily female at 90.7% of total registrations, but 81 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Camara as a male name
- Ranked #10,812 in 2001
- 5 male births in 2001
- Peak: 1973 (10 births)
Camara as a female name
- Ranked #10,401 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (34 births)
Popularity
Camara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Camara from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 236 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
Camara 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 Camara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Camaras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Florida, Illinois, Missouri recorded the most babies named Camara, while New York, Missouri, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Camara
The name Camara has its roots in the Mandinka language spoken by the Mandinka people of West Africa, particularly in present-day Guinea, Senegal, and Mali. It originated as a term meaning "one who is trustworthy" or "one who keeps secrets."
The earliest known reference to the name Camara can be traced back to the 13th century, during the reign of the Mali Empire. Historical accounts mention Camara as a prominent family name among the nobility and warriors of the empire.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Camara was Sundiata Keita, also known as Mari Jata Keita or Sundjata Keita, who lived from circa 1217 to 1255. He was the founder and first emperor of the Mali Empire, celebrated for his military victories and unification of the Mandinka kingdoms.
Another notable figure with the name Camara was Mansa Musa I, who ruled the Mali Empire from 1312 to 1337. He was renowned for his wealth and his famous pilgrimage to Mecca, which brought the Mali Empire to the attention of the wider world.
During the 16th century, the name Camara appeared in Portuguese records from their encounters with the Mandinka people along the West African coast. One such individual was Antão Camara, a Mandinka trader who acted as an interpreter and intermediary between the Portuguese and local populations.
In the 19th century, Samori Ture, also known as Samory Touré or Samori Camara, was a prominent military leader and the founder of the Wassoulou Empire in present-day Guinea. He was born around 1830 and fought against French colonial expansion until his capture in 1898.
Another significant figure with the name Camara was Abdoulaye Camara, a Guinean politician and military officer who played a crucial role in the country's independence movement. He was born in 1919 and served as the first Prime Minister of Guinea after independence in 1958.
People
Camara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Camara 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
Camara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Camara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 842 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Camara 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 407,072 US residents.
Is Camara a common name?
We classify Camara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 869 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Camara most popular?
The single biggest year for Camara was 1994, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Camara is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Camara a female name?
Yes, 90.7% of people registered as Camara 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.