Devra
An anglicized feminine form of the Hebrew Devorah, meaning "bee".
Name Census estimates that about 621 living Americans carry the first name Devra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Devra today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Devra births was 1955 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Devra. 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
621
~ 1 in 551,939 Americans
Peak year
1955
34 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1995 SSA rank
#12,183
Tracked since 1944
Census
Devra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 848 people with the first name Devra, which placed it at #14,015 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
#14,015
National first-name rank
People counted
848
848 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Devra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Devra is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Devra 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 Devra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 678
- Black or African American11.3% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 35
- Two or more races3.5% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 1
Popularity
Devra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Devra from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 224 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Devra 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 Devra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Devras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Kansas, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Devra, while Kentucky, Kansas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Devra
The name Devra is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "deva," which means "divine" or "heavenly." The name is thought to have been first used in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in regions where Hinduism and Buddhism were prevalent religions.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Devra can be found in the Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas, which date back to around 1500 BCE. In these ancient texts, the name is often associated with deities and celestial beings, reflecting its divine connotations.
In the 6th century BCE, the name Devra gained prominence with the birth of a renowned Buddhist scholar and monk named Devra Nāgārjuna. He is widely regarded as the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism and is celebrated for his influential philosophical works, such as the "Mūlamadhyamakakārikā."
During the medieval period, the name Devra was adopted by various Hindu and Buddhist communities across South Asia. One notable figure from this era was Devra Dāsa, a 15th-century Hindu poet and saint from the Bhakti tradition. His devotional compositions, known as "padas," are still widely recited and celebrated in parts of India.
In the 16th century, a Sikh warrior and poet named Devra Singh gained recognition for his contributions to the Sikh faith. He is remembered for his bravery in battles and his literary works that promoted the teachings of Sikhism.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Devra was Devra Patil, an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer from the 19th century. She played a significant role in the Indian independence movement and advocated for the rights of women and the underprivileged.
While the name Devra has its roots in the Indian subcontinent, it has also been adopted in various forms and spellings by other cultures around the world, reflecting its enduring appeal and spiritual associations.
People
Devra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Devra 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
Devra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Devra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 621 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Devra 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 551,939 US residents.
Is Devra a common name?
We classify Devra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 781 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Devra most popular?
The single biggest year for Devra was 1955, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Devra is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Devra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 848 people with the name Devra, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,015 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 Devra 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 Devra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Devra appears almost entirely female. Of the 846 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Devra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Devra is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Devra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Devra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (678 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 Devra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Devra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Devra 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 Devra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Devra 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 Devra 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 have the name Devra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.