Dera
Derived from a Hebrew word meaning "precious, beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 186 living Americans carry the first name Dera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dera today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dera births was 1915 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dera. 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
186
~ 1 in 1,842,765 Americans
Peak year
1915
16 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2009 SSA rank
#18,038
Tracked since 1893
Popularity
Dera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dera from the 1890s through to the 2000s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 71 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dera 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 Dera during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Deras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dera
The name Dera is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language of South Asia. The name can be traced back to the ancient Indian subcontinent, where it was potentially derived from the Sanskrit word "dara," meaning "fissure" or "cleft."
In some regional variations, the name Dera is also thought to be related to the Persian word "dera," which means "dwelling" or "abode." This suggests that the name may have been influenced by Persian culture, which had a significant impact on the Indian subcontinent during various historical periods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dera can be found in the ancient Hindu text, the Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 4th century BCE. In this epic, there is a minor character named Dera, who is mentioned as a servant or attendant.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dera. One of the most famous was Dera Ghazi Khan (1572-1628), a Pashtun warrior and chieftain who played a significant role in the Mughal Empire's conquest of the region that is now part of modern-day Pakistan. The city of Dera Ghazi Khan is named after him.
Another historical figure with the name Dera was Dera Ismail Khan (1674-1770), a Pashtun leader and tribal chief who ruled over parts of present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The city of Dera Ismail Khan is named after him.
In the 19th century, Dera Nanak (1469-1539) was a prominent Sikh guru and the founder of the city of Nankana Sahib, which is now located in modern-day Pakistan. He is renowned for his teachings and his contributions to the Sikh faith.
In the field of literature, Dera Raj Khachar (1904-1983) was a prominent Sindhi writer, poet, and playwright from Pakistan. He played a significant role in the development of modern Sindhi literature and was awarded the prestigious Sitara-e-Imtiaz, one of Pakistan's highest civilian honors.
Additionally, Dera Natung (1924-2016) was an Indian politician and social worker from the state of Arunachal Pradesh. She was a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament, and worked tirelessly for the rights and welfare of women and marginalized communities.
People
Dera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dera 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
Dera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 186 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dera 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 1,842,765 US residents.
Is Dera a common name?
We classify Dera as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 440 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dera most popular?
The single biggest year for Dera was 1915, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dera is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dera 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.