Heera
An Indian feminine name meaning "diamond" in Hindi.
Name Census estimates that about 71 living Americans carry the first name Heera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Heera today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Heera births was 2021 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Heera. 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 Heera with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Heera. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
71
~ 1 in 4,827,526 Americans
Peak year
2021
11 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,538
Tracked since 2002
Census
Heera in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 281 people with the first name Heera, which placed it at #30,797 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
#30,797
National first-name rank
People counted
281
281 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heera
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Heera is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Black (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Heera 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 Heera at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.7% · 255
- Black or African American3.2% · 9
- Two or more races2.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
- White0.4% · 1
Popularity
Heera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Heera from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 36 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Heera 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 Heera 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 Heera
The name Heera originates from the Hindi language and is derived from the Sanskrit word "Hira," which means "diamond." This name has its roots in the Indian subcontinent and can be traced back to ancient times.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Heera can be found in Hindu mythology. In the epic Mahabharata, Heera is mentioned as the name of a precious gemstone, symbolizing purity, strength, and radiance. This association with diamonds and gems has contributed to the name's enduring popularity in the region.
The name gained widespread recognition during the Mughal era in India, which spanned from the 16th to the 19th century. During this period, the Mughal rulers were known for their love of opulent jewelry and precious stones. The name Heera was often given to girls born into noble families, reflecting the desire for their daughters to possess qualities of brilliance and rarity.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Heera. One of the earliest recorded examples is Heera Kunwari (1555-1624), a famous Indian poetess and courtesan who lived during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Her poetry, which celebrated love and mysticism, earned her widespread acclaim and a place in the literary annals of India.
Another prominent figure was Heera Bai (1719-1789), a renowned classical singer and dancer from the Bundelkhand region of India. She was a prominent figure in the court of the Maratha ruler, Peshwa Baji Rao I, and her contributions to the development of Kathak dance and Thumri music have been widely recognized.
In more recent times, Heera Ratnani (1920-2004) was an Indian author and social activist who dedicated her life to promoting women's empowerment and education. Her literary works, such as "Aag ka Dariya" and "Mera Bachpan," explored the struggles and triumphs of women in traditional Indian society.
Heera Singh (1912-1999) was an Indian field hockey player who represented the country at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where the Indian team won the gold medal. He is remembered as one of the legendary players in the history of Indian hockey.
Lastly, Heera Thakur (1927-2013) was a prominent Indian classical vocalist and exponent of the Khayal and Thumri genres. She was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for her contributions to music.
The name Heera has remained popular across generations, symbolizing not only beauty and radiance but also strength, resilience, and a connection to the rich cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent.
People
Heera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Heera as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Heera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Heera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 71 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Heera 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 4,827,526 US residents.
Is Heera a common name?
We classify Heera as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 72 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Heera most popular?
The single biggest year for Heera was 2021, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Heera is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Heera in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 281 people with the name Heera, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,797 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 Heera 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 Heera?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Heera leans strongly female. 237 people counted with this name were female (84.0%), compared with 45 male bearers (16.0%). 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 Heera?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Heera is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Black (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Heera most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Heera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (255 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 Heera in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Heera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Heera 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 Heera still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Heera 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 Heera 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 common is the name Heera?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Heera at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.