Cleopatra
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "glory of the father".
Name Census estimates that about 1,430 living Americans carry the first name Cleopatra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cleopatra today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cleopatra births was 1974 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cleopatra. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 239,688 Americans
Peak year
1974
52 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,450
Tracked since 1889
Popularity
Cleopatra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cleopatra from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 340 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Cleopatra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cleopatra 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 Cleopatra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cleopatras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Cleopatra, while Ohio, Massachusetts, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cleopatra
The name Cleopatra has its origins in the Greek language and culture, emerging in ancient times during the Ptolemaic period in Egypt. It is derived from the Greek words "kleos," meaning glory, and "patros," meaning father, essentially translating to "glory of the father."
The name gained significant historical prominence through the legendary Queen Cleopatra VII Philopator, who ruled ancient Egypt from 51 BC to 30 BC. She was the last pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty and is renowned for her influential role in Roman politics, her romantic relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, and her eventual tragic demise.
Prior to Queen Cleopatra VII, the name was associated with several other notable figures in ancient history. One of the earliest recorded references is Cleopatra I Syra, who lived in the 2nd century BC and was the daughter of Antiochus III the Great, a Seleucid king. Another notable bearer was Cleopatra III, who ruled Egypt from 142 BC to 101 BC.
Throughout history, the name Cleopatra has been carried by numerous influential women, including Cleopatra Selene I, the daughter of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony, who lived from 40 BC to 5 BC. In the 3rd century AD, there was Cleopatra of Palmyra, a queen consort of the Palmyrene Empire.
During the Byzantine period, the name was borne by Cleopatra of Jerusalem, a Christian martyr who lived in the 4th century AD. In more recent times, Cleopatra Trujillo, the daughter of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, was a prominent figure in the 20th century, living from 1924 to 2008.
The name Cleopatra has also been immortalized in various literary works, including William Shakespeare's play "Antony and Cleopatra," which portrays the tumultuous relationship between the Egyptian queen and the Roman general Mark Antony. Additionally, the name has been featured in numerous films, operas, and other artistic works, solidifying its place in cultural history.
People
Cleopatra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cleopatra 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
Cleopatra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cleopatra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,430 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cleopatra 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 239,688 US residents.
Is Cleopatra a common name?
We classify Cleopatra as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,441 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cleopatra most popular?
The single biggest year for Cleopatra was 1974, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cleopatra is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cleopatra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cleopatra 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.