Debra
A feminine given name derived from a Hebrew phrase meaning "bee".
Name Census estimates that about 413,951 living Americans carry the first name Debra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Debra today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Debra births was 1955 (50,635 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Debra. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Debra with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Debra is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 1,147 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Debra is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Debras were born before 1970.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Debra have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
414K
~ 1 in 828 Americans
Peak year
1955
50,635 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1984 SSA rank
#3,581
Tracked since 1914
Census
Debra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 465,855 people with the first name Debra, which placed it at #98 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
#98
National first-name rank
People counted
466K
465,855 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
154.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Debra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Debra is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.8%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Debra 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 Debra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 394,826
- Black or African American8.8% · 40,789
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 14,390
- Two or more races2.3% · 10,853
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2,818
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2,179
Gender
Gender distribution for Debra
Out of the 551,809 babies given the name Debra since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Debra as a male name
- Ranked #6,536 in 1984
- 5 male births in 1984
- Peak: 1956 (90 births)
Debra as a female name
- Ranked #3,581 in 2024
- 43 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1955 (50,560 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Debra appears almost entirely female. Of the 465,857 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Debra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Debra from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 341,938 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
Debra 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 Debra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Debras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Debra, while Delaware, Alaska, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10,747 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Debra
Debra is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin, derived from the word "devorah," which means "bee" in Hebrew. The name has been in use since ancient times, dating back to the biblical period.
The earliest recorded use of the name Debra can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible, where it is mentioned as the name of a prophetess and judge in ancient Israel. According to the Book of Judges, Debra was a wise and courageous leader who guided the Israelites against their oppressors.
In the Middle Ages, the name gained popularity among Jewish communities across Europe. It was often spelled as "Deborah" or "Devorah," reflecting its Hebrew roots. During this period, the name was associated with strength, wisdom, and leadership, qualities that were admired in women of that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Debra in history is Debra of Hungary, a 13th-century noblewoman and landowner. She is known for her philanthropic efforts and for founding several monasteries and churches in Hungary during her lifetime.
Another notable figure bearing the name Debra was Debra of Anjou, a 14th-century Princess of Naples and Countess of Anjou. She played a significant role in the political intrigues and conflicts of her time and was known for her intelligence and cunning.
In the 16th century, Debra Sampson, an American woman, gained fame for disguising herself as a man and serving in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Her bravery and determination made her a celebrated figure in American history.
The name Debra also has a rich literary history. Debra Vickers was a character in the 19th-century novel "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens, portrayed as a strong-willed and independent woman.
In more recent times, notable figures with the name Debra include Debra Winger, an American actress born in 1955, known for her roles in films such as "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Terms of Endearment." Debra Hill, born in 1950, was an American film producer and screenwriter, best known for her work on the iconic horror film "Halloween."
Notable bearers
Famous people named Debra
People
Debra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Debra 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
Debra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Debra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 413,951 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Debra 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 828 US residents.
Is Debra a common name?
We classify Debra as "Common". It ranks above 99.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 551,809 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Debra most popular?
The single biggest year for Debra was 1955, when 50,635 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Debra is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Debra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 465,855 people with the name Debra, or 154.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #98 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 Debra 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 Debra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Debra appears almost entirely female. Of the 465,857 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Debra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Debra is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.8%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Debra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Debra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (394,826 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 Debra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Debra a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Debra 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 Debra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Debra 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 Debra 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 Debra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.