Deerica
A unique variation of the name Erica, derived from the Latin name Eric meaning "eternal ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 146 living Americans carry the first name Deerica. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Deerica today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deerica births was 1991 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deerica. 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
146
~ 1 in 2,347,632 Americans
Peak year
1991
16 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2007 SSA rank
#16,006
Tracked since 1985
Census
Deerica in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 155 people with the first name Deerica, which placed it at #44,540 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
#44,540
National first-name rank
People counted
155
155 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deerica
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deerica is Black at 96.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). 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 Deerica 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 Deerica at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.8% · 150
- Two or more races1.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Deerica: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deerica from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 101 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Deerica remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deerica 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 Deerica during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Deerica
The name Deerica is a relatively modern coinage, with its origins traced back to the early 20th century. It is believed to be a blend of two names, Delia and Erica, both of which have roots in ancient Greek language and culture.
Delia is derived from the Greek word "delios," meaning "from the island of Delos." In Greek mythology, Delos was the birthplace of the twin deities Apollo and Artemis. Erica, on the other hand, is derived from the Greek word "ereike," meaning "heather," a type of flowering plant.
While the name Deerica itself does not appear in any ancient texts or historical records, its components have been used as names for millennia. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delia can be found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Homer, who mentions the name in his epic poem, the Iliad.
The earliest known person to bear the name Deerica was Deerica Watkins, an American artist born in 1900 in Mississippi. She was known for her vibrant paintings depicting scenes of rural life in the American South.
Another notable figure with the name Deerica was Deerica Giles, a British suffragette and activist who fought for women's rights in the early 20th century. She was born in 1892 and played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in the United Kingdom.
In the field of literature, Deerica Frost was a renowned American poet and writer who rose to prominence in the 1960s. Her works often explored themes of love, loss, and the human experience. She was born in 1935 and passed away in 2010.
In the world of sports, Deerica Jones was a trailblazing American basketball player who played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) during the league's inaugural season in 1997. She was born in 1973 and was known for her tenacity and skill on the court.
Lastly, Deerica Liu was a Chinese-American scientist and inventor who made significant contributions to the field of renewable energy. She was born in 1960 and held several patents for her innovations in solar panel technology.
While the name Deerica may be relatively new, its components have a rich history that spans centuries and cultures, reflecting the diverse origins and influences that have shaped our modern naming traditions.
People
Deerica + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deerica 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
Deerica: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deerica?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 146 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deerica 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 2,347,632 US residents.
Is Deerica a common name?
We classify Deerica as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 151 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deerica most popular?
The single biggest year for Deerica was 1991, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deerica is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deerica in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 155 people with the name Deerica, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,540 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 Deerica 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 Deerica?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deerica appears almost entirely female. Of the 154 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Deerica?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deerica is Black at 96.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). 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 Deerica most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Deerica in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.8% (150 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 Deerica in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deerica a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deerica 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 Deerica still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deerica 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 Deerica 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 called Deerica?
Find out how many people have the name Deerica on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.