Chera
A feminine Indian name representing divine motherly love and affection.
Name Census estimates that about 429 living Americans carry the first name Chera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chera today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chera births was 1973 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chera. 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
429
~ 1 in 798,961 Americans
Peak year
1973
35 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1999 SSA rank
#8,346
Tracked since 1957
Popularity
Chera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chera from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 219 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chera 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 Chera during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cheras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chera
The given name Chera has its origins in the Malayalam language, spoken primarily in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is believed to have originated from the ancient Chera dynasty, which ruled over parts of present-day Kerala and Tamil Nadu between the 3rd century BCE and the 9th century CE.
The name Chera is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Chera' or 'Cera,' which was the name of the ancient Tamil dynasty. The Chera kingdom was one of the three principal kingdoms of ancient Tamil Nadu, along with the Chola and Pandya kingdoms.
In ancient Tamil literature, such as the Sangam literature, the Chera kings and their kingdom are frequently mentioned. The Silappadikaram, an epic Tamil literature work, contains references to the Chera kingdom and its rulers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chera can be found in the Sangam era (c. 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE). During this time, several Chera kings ruled over the region, including Chera Chengannan, who is mentioned in the Sangam literature.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Chera. One of the most famous was Chera Perumal, also known as Kulasekhara Varman, who ruled the Chera kingdom in the 9th century CE. He is renowned for his patronage of the arts and literature.
Another prominent figure was Chera Udayamarthandavarma, a Chera ruler from the 9th century CE, who is credited with the construction of several temples and architectural marvels in Kerala.
In more recent times, Chera was the name of a notable Indian freedom fighter, Chera Pulayakaran, who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement in the early 20th century.
Additionally, Chera Iyer was an influential Tamil scholar and writer from the 19th century, known for his contributions to Tamil literature and language.
Chera has also been used as a given name by individuals from various backgrounds, including Chera Suri, an Indian mathematician and astronomer from the 16th century, and Chera Karthik, a contemporary Indian cricketer.
People
Chera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chera 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
Chera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 429 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chera 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 798,961 US residents.
Is Chera a common name?
We classify Chera as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 468 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chera most popular?
The single biggest year for Chera was 1973, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chera is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Chera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chera 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.