Debera
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "bee".
Name Census estimates that about 904 living Americans carry the first name Debera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Debera today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Debera births was 1955 (96 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Debera. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Debera is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Deberas were born before 1968.
People living today
904
~ 1 in 379,153 Americans
Peak year
1955
96 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1980 SSA rank
#10,771
Tracked since 1944
Census
Debera in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,178 people with the first name Debera, which placed it at #11,039 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
#11,039
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,178 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Debera
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Debera is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Debera 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 Debera at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.3% · 958
- Black or African American11.5% · 135
- Two or more races3.0% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 8
Popularity
Debera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Debera from the 1940s through to the 1980s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 732 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Debera 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 Debera during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Deberas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Debera, while Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Debera
The given name Debera has its roots in the Hebrew language and culture, with origins dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "dever," which means "to speak" or "to lead." This etymology suggests that the name may have been associated with qualities such as eloquence, leadership, or communication.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Debera can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where it appears as a variant spelling of the name Deborah. In the Book of Judges, Deborah is portrayed as a prophetess and a judge who played a significant role in leading the Israelites to victory against the Canaanites.
Throughout history, the name Debera has been borne by several notable individuals. One such figure was Debera Kadeer, a prominent Uyghur human rights activist born in 1951 in Xinjiang, China. She has tirelessly advocated for the rights of the Uyghur people and has received numerous international awards for her efforts.
Another notable bearer of the name was Debera Shugart, an American actress and singer who lived from 1913 to 1991. She appeared in various films and television shows throughout her career and was known for her performances in musicals and operettas.
In the realm of literature, Debera Kauffman-Ricketts is a notable name. Born in 1950, she is a renowned American poet and author who has published several collections of poetry and has been recognized with numerous awards and honors for her literary contributions.
The name Debera has also been associated with individuals in the field of science. One such figure is Debera Johnson, a British computer scientist and academic born in 1961. She has made significant contributions to the field of artificial intelligence and has held leadership positions at prestigious institutions like the University of Cambridge.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name is Debera Saunders, an American conservative columnist and journalist born in 1960. She has worked for various publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and has been recognized for her commentary on political and social issues.
While these examples highlight the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals named Debera, it is important to note that the name has been used across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its enduring appeal and rich historical significance.
People
Debera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Debera 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
Debera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Debera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 904 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Debera 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 379,153 US residents.
Is Debera a common name?
We classify Debera as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,252 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Debera most popular?
The single biggest year for Debera was 1955, when 96 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Debera is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Debera in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,178 people with the name Debera, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,039 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 Debera 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 Debera?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Debera appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,181 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Debera?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Debera is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Debera most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Debera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.3% (958 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 Debera in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Debera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Debera 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 Debera still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Debera 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 Debera 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 are named Debera?
Want to know how many people have the name Debera? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.