NameCensus.
Rare

Ceara

Feminine given name derived from an Irish place name, possibly meaning "territory of the fertile lands".

Name Census estimates that about 1,462 living Americans carry the first name Ceara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ceara today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ceara births was 1991 (143 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Ceara. 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

1.5K

~ 1 in 234,442 Americans

Peak year

1991

143 babies that year

Average age

30

years old

2016 SSA rank

#13,181

Tracked since 1974

Popularity

Ceara: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Ceara from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 908 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.

Babies born per year

03672107143197519801985199019952000200520102015

Decades

Ceara 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 Ceara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
1970s02323
1980s0187187
1990s0908908
2000s0319319
2010s07373

Geography

Where Cearas live

The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Ceara, while North Carolina, Massachusetts, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.

Origin

Meaning and history of Ceara

The name Ceara has its origins in the Irish language and Gaelic culture, dating back several centuries. It is derived from the old Irish word "ciar" which means "dark" or "black-haired." The name was likely given to children with dark features or hair.

In ancient Irish legends and mythology, there are references to heroic figures and characters with the name Ceara or similar spellings like Ciara or Kiara. These tales were passed down through oral tradition for generations before being recorded in writing.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ceara can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled by monks in the 15th century. The annals mention a woman named Ceara ingen Ragnaill who lived in the 12th century.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Ceara. One example is Ceara Ní Chonaill, an Irish noblewoman and renowned poet who lived in the 16th century. Her poetic works, written in the Irish language, have been preserved and studied by scholars.

Another famous Ceara was Ceara Shaughnessy, an Irish revolutionary who fought for Irish independence in the early 20th century. She was a member of the Irish Citizen Army and participated in the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule.

In the realm of literature, Ceara O'Callaghan was a celebrated Irish novelist and short story writer who lived from 1923 to 2018. Her works often explored themes of identity, family, and the experiences of Irish immigrants.

In the world of sports, Ceara Grant was a Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the 1980s and 1990s. She won multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games and represented Canada at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games.

Lastly, Ceara Thackeray was a renowned British painter and sculptor who lived from 1869 to 1945. Her works were exhibited at the Royal Academy and other prestigious galleries, and she was known for her portraiture and figurative sculptures.

People

Ceara + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Ceara 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

Ceara: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Ceara?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,462 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ceara 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 234,442 US residents.

Is Ceara a common name?

We classify Ceara as "Rare". It ranks above 92.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,510 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Ceara most popular?

The single biggest year for Ceara was 1991, when 143 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ceara is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

Is Ceara a female name?

Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ceara 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.

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