Cerina
A feminine name derived from the Latin word "cera" meaning "wax".
Name Census estimates that about 523 living Americans carry the first name Cerina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cerina today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cerina births was 2000 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cerina. 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
523
~ 1 in 655,362 Americans
Peak year
2000
32 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,508
Tracked since 1966
Census
Cerina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 496 people with the first name Cerina, which placed it at #20,722 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
#20,722
National first-name rank
People counted
496
496 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
37.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cerina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cerina is White at 37.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.1%) and Black (12.5%). 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 Cerina 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 Cerina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White37.3% · 185
- Hispanic or Latino32.1% · 159
- Black or African American12.5% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.5% · 47
- Two or more races7.7% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 5
Popularity
Cerina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cerina 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 185 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
Cerina 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 Cerina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cerinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Cerina, while Florida, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cerina
The name Cerina has its roots in ancient Greek culture, originating from the word "kera," which means "horn" or "ray of light." This connection suggests that the name may have been initially associated with ideas of radiance, strength, or even lunar symbolism.
In the classical Greek period, the name Cerina was relatively uncommon, but it did appear in a few historical records and literary works. One of the earliest recorded instances was a mention in Plutarch's "Parallel Lives," where he referenced a woman named Cerina who lived in the 2nd century BC and was known for her wisdom and intellect.
During the Byzantine era, the name gained some popularity among Greek communities, particularly in regions like Anatolia and the Greek islands. It was occasionally bestowed upon women of noble or scholarly backgrounds, perhaps as a nod to the name's association with wisdom and enlightenment.
In the Middle Ages, the name Cerina found its way into various European cultures through the migration and influence of Greek scholars and traders. In Italy, for example, there are records of a notable philosopher named Cerina Boccaccio, who lived in the 14th century and was renowned for her contributions to the study of metaphysics.
As the Renaissance blossomed, the name Cerina experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly among humanist circles. One notable figure was Cerina Veronese, an Italian artist and poet born in 1499, whose works celebrated the beauty of nature and the human form.
In the 17th century, the name made an appearance in the works of the English playwright William Shakespeare. In his play "The Tempest," one of the characters is named Cerina, though her role is relatively minor.
Throughout history, the name Cerina has been carried by notable individuals from various backgrounds, including the 19th-century French mathematician Cerina Legendre, the Italian opera singer Cerina Patti (1838-1908), and the American author Cerina Wharton (1862-1937), known for her novels exploring social issues of her time.
While not as widely used as some other names, Cerina has maintained a presence throughout the centuries, carrying with it a sense of radiance, wisdom, and a connection to the rich cultural heritage of the ancient Greek world.
People
Cerina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cerina 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
Cerina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cerina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 523 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cerina 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 655,362 US residents.
Is Cerina a common name?
We classify Cerina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 541 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cerina most popular?
The single biggest year for Cerina was 2000, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cerina is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cerina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 496 people with the name Cerina, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,722 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 Cerina 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 Cerina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cerina appears almost entirely female. Of the 493 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Cerina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cerina is White at 37.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.1%) and Black (12.5%). 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 Cerina most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cerina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.3% (185 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 Cerina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cerina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cerina 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 Cerina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cerina 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 Cerina 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 common is the name Cerina?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.