Ceria
A feminine name derived from the Greek term "keria" meaning cheerfulness or joy.
Name Census estimates that about 100 living Americans carry the first name Ceria. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ceria today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ceria births was 1989 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ceria. 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
100
~ 1 in 3,427,543 Americans
Peak year
1989
13 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2004 SSA rank
#14,517
Tracked since 1985
Census
Ceria in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 160 people with the first name Ceria, which placed it at #43,806 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
#43,806
National first-name rank
People counted
160
160 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ceria
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ceria is Black at 51.3%. The next largest groups are White (26.3%) and Hispanic (11.3%). 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 Ceria 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 Ceria at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.3% · 82
- White26.3% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino11.3% · 18
- Two or more races5.6% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 4
Popularity
Ceria: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ceria from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 48 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Ceria remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ceria 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 Ceria during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ceria
The name Ceria is derived from the Latin word "cera," meaning "wax." It is believed to have originated in ancient Rome, where it was initially used as a surname or cognomen for individuals associated with the wax-making trade or those who had a pale, wax-like complexion.
In the early centuries of the Christian era, Ceria began to emerge as a feminine given name, particularly among the upper classes of Roman society. The first recorded instance of the name appears in a 3rd-century inscription found in the catacombs of Rome, where it was used for a young Christian martyr.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ceria gained popularity throughout Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain. It was often associated with the virtues of purity, innocence, and grace, reflecting the name's connection to the symbolism of wax, which was used in religious ceremonies and as a metaphor for the light of faith.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Ceria of Trier (c. 450-510), a Frankish princess and abbess who founded several monasteries in what is now modern-day Germany. Another prominent figure was Ceria of Burgundy (c. 1020-1109), a French noblewoman and influential patron of the arts and literature.
In the Renaissance period, the name Ceria gained artistic significance, particularly in Italy. Ceria Merisi (1591-1666), an Italian painter and student of Caravaggio, was renowned for her religious works and portraiture. Ceria Farnese (1592-1642), a member of the powerful Farnese family, was a renowned patron of the arts and a collector of artwork.
During the Baroque era, the name Ceria was associated with the pursuit of knowledge and intellectual pursuits. Ceria Borromeo (1623-1684), an Italian noblewoman and philosopher, was a prominent figure in the learned circles of Milan and a patron of scientific and literary endeavors.
Throughout history, the name Ceria has been borne by numerous other notable individuals, including Ceria de la Vega (1766-1842), a Spanish playwright and poet; Ceria Sánchez (1842-1925), a Cuban educator and advocate for women's rights; and Ceria Pardo Bazán (1851-1921), a Spanish novelist and literary critic.
Despite its rich historical legacy, the name Ceria has remained relatively uncommon in modern times, perhaps due to its association with the Latin word "cera" and its connection to the wax-making trade, which may have been perceived as less desirable in more recent centuries.
People
Ceria + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ceria 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
Ceria: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ceria?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 100 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ceria 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 3,427,543 US residents.
Is Ceria a common name?
We classify Ceria as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 104 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ceria most popular?
The single biggest year for Ceria was 1989, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ceria is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ceria in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 160 people with the name Ceria, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,806 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 Ceria 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 Ceria?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ceria appears almost entirely female. Of the 161 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Ceria?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ceria is Black at 51.3%. The next largest groups are White (26.3%) and Hispanic (11.3%). 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 Ceria most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ceria in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.3% (82 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 Ceria in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ceria a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ceria 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 Ceria still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ceria 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 Ceria 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 have the name Ceria?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.