Dearra
A Gaelic feminine name derived from the word "deara" meaning "daughter of a poet".
Name Census estimates that about 454 living Americans carry the first name Dearra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dearra today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dearra births was 2021 (75 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dearra. 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
454
~ 1 in 754,966 Americans
Peak year
2021
75 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,398
Tracked since 1989
Census
Dearra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 186 people with the first name Dearra, which placed it at #40,168 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
#40,168
National first-name rank
People counted
186
186 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
84.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dearra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dearra is Black at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and White (3.8%). 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 Dearra 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 Dearra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.9% · 158
- Two or more races7.0% · 13
- White3.8% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
Popularity
Dearra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dearra from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 273 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dearra 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 Dearra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dearras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Dearra, while North Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dearra
The name Dearra has its origins in Irish Gaelic, an ancient Celtic language spoken in Ireland. It is believed to have derived from the Old Irish word "dearr," which means "daughter" or "maiden." The name's earliest recorded use dates back to the 5th century AD, during the height of the Irish monastic tradition.
In ancient Irish texts and manuscripts, the name Dearra often appears as a diminutive form of the name Dearbhail, which itself is derived from the same root word "dearr." These manuscripts, many of which were written by Irish monks, provide some of the earliest documented evidence of the name's existence.
One of the earliest recorded individuals to bear the name Dearra was Saint Dearra of Kildare, an Irish nun and abbess who lived in the 6th century AD. According to hagiographic accounts, she was a disciple of St. Brigid of Kildare and founded several monasteries in Ireland.
Another notable figure with the name was Dearra ingen Taidg, a 9th-century Irish princess who was the daughter of Tadc mac Muireadaig, the King of Connacht. She is mentioned in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history.
In the 12th century, Dearra ingen Diarmata was an Irish noblewoman and the wife of Muirchertach Ua Briain, the King of Munster. She is referenced in several contemporary Irish annals and genealogical records.
During the 16th century, Dearra Ní Bhreathnach was a renowned Irish poet and composer who lived in County Kilkenny. Her poetry, written in the Irish language, is preserved in various manuscript collections and provides insight into the cultural and literary traditions of the time.
Dearra Ní Dhubhagáin, born in the late 17th century, was an Irish noblewoman and landowner from County Tipperary. She is mentioned in legal documents and land records from the period, reflecting the social and economic dynamics of the time.
Throughout its history, the name Dearra has remained closely tied to its Irish Gaelic roots, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and linguistic traditions of Ireland. Its enduring presence in historical records and literary works attests to its significance and longevity as an Irish given name.
People
Dearra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dearra as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dearra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dearra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 454 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dearra 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 754,966 US residents.
Is Dearra a common name?
We classify Dearra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 458 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dearra most popular?
The single biggest year for Dearra was 2021, when 75 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dearra is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dearra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 186 people with the name Dearra, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,168 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 Dearra 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 Dearra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dearra leans strongly female. 180 people counted with this name were female (96.3%), compared with 7 male bearers (3.7%). 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 Dearra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dearra is Black at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and White (3.8%). 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 Dearra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dearra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (158 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 Dearra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dearra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dearra 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 Dearra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dearra 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 Dearra 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 share the name Dearra?
Find out how many people have the name Dearra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.