Keera
A feminine name of Indian origin meaning "lotus" or "ray of light".
Name Census estimates that about 774 living Americans carry the first name Keera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keera today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keera births was 2006 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keera. 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 Keera with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
774
~ 1 in 442,835 Americans
Peak year
2006
38 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2023 SSA rank
#16,375
Tracked since 1975
Census
Keera in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 730 people with the first name Keera, which placed it at #15,675 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
#15,675
National first-name rank
People counted
730
730 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keera
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keera is White at 52.9%. The next largest groups are Black (26.2%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). 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 Keera 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 Keera at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.9% · 386
- Black or African American26.2% · 191
- Two or more races8.6% · 63
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 13
Popularity
Keera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keera from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 284 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keera 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 Keera during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keeras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Keera
The name Keera has its origins in the Sanskrit language and can be traced back to ancient India. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "Kira," which means "ray of light" or "radiance." It is believed to have been in use as a personal name since the early centuries of the common era.
Keera was a relatively uncommon name in ancient India, but it gained popularity during the medieval period, particularly among the Hindu community. The name was often associated with beauty, purity, and enlightenment, reflecting the cultural and spiritual significance of light in Hindu philosophy.
In Hindu mythology, there are references to Keera as a minor goddess or celestial being associated with radiance and divine light. However, the name does not appear to have any direct mentions in major Hindu scriptures or epics like the Vedas or the Ramayana.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Keera can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts and inscriptions from the Gupta Empire, which ruled over parts of northern and central India between the 4th and 6th centuries CE. During this period, Keera was used as a name for women from noble or royal families.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Keera. One of the most famous was Keera Devi, a powerful queen who ruled over the Chauhan dynasty in the region of present-day Rajasthan, India, during the 11th century CE. She was known for her military prowess and her efforts to defend her kingdom against invading forces.
Another historical figure with the name Keera was Keera Bai, a renowned poet and scholar from the 16th century who was patronized by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. She is credited with writing several works of poetry and literature in the Braj Bhasha language.
In the 18th century, Keera Kumari was a prominent dancer and courtesan in the court of the Maratha ruler Shahu I. She was renowned for her beauty, grace, and artistic talents, and her name became synonymous with the classical dance form of Kathak.
During the 19th century, Keera Devi was a prominent social reformer and activist who fought against the practice of Sati (widow immolation) and advocated for women's education and empowerment in India. She played a significant role in the social reform movements of that era.
Keera Nandan was a notable Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who participated in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule in the early 20th century. He was involved in various protests and demonstrations and was imprisoned multiple times for his activities.
People
Keera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keera as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Keera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 774 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keera 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 442,835 US residents.
Is Keera a common name?
We classify Keera as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 793 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keera most popular?
The single biggest year for Keera was 2006, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keera is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keera in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 730 people with the name Keera, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,675 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 Keera 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 Keera?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keera appears almost entirely female. Of the 729 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Keera?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keera is White at 52.9%. The next largest groups are Black (26.2%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). 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 Keera most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Keera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.9% (386 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 Keera in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keera 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 Keera still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keera 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 Keera 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 Americans are named Keera?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.