Hera
Greek name of the mythological queen of Olympian gods, protector of marriage.
Name Census estimates that about 865 living Americans carry the first name Hera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hera today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hera births was 2024 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hera. 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
865
~ 1 in 396,248 Americans
Peak year
2024
61 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,776
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Hera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hera from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 330 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
Hera 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 Hera during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Heras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Hera, while Washington, Pennsylvania, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hera
The given name Hera has its origins in ancient Greek mythology and religion. It is derived from the Greek word "hera" which means "protectress". The name is closely associated with Hera, the Greek goddess of women, marriage, family, and childbirth, and one of the most powerful deities in the Greek pantheon.
Hera was the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea and the sister and wife of Zeus, the supreme ruler of the Greek gods. She was worshipped extensively throughout ancient Greece, particularly in her major cult centers such as Argos, Samos, and Sparta. The name Hera appears frequently in ancient Greek literature, including Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and in various mythological tales and religious texts.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Hera was Hera of Laconia, a Greek woman who lived in the 6th century BCE and was renowned for her beauty and virtue. In the 4th century BCE, there was a Greek poet named Hera of Rhodes who wrote lyric poetry and was highly regarded in her time.
During the Hellenistic period, a prominent philosopher and mathematician named Hera of Alexandria (fl. 3rd century BCE) made significant contributions to the study of mathematics and was known for her work on conic sections.
In the Byzantine era, Hera of Constantinople (c. 760 – c. 840 CE) was a renowned scholar and theologian who played a crucial role in the Iconoclastic controversy, advocating for the veneration of religious icons.
Another notable figure was Hera of Chios (c. 1120 – c. 1190 CE), a Byzantine poet and scholar who wrote extensively on various subjects, including philosophy, theology, and literature.
While the name Hera has its roots in Greek antiquity, it has been used throughout history in various cultures, often as a tribute to the powerful goddess or as a symbol of strength and protection. The name continues to be used in modern times, carrying with it a rich cultural and historical legacy.
People
Hera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hera 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
Hera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 865 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hera 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 396,248 US residents.
Is Hera a common name?
We classify Hera as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 878 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hera most popular?
The single biggest year for Hera was 2024, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hera is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hera 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.