Ketra
An invented name of uncertain meaning, sometimes associated with vitality or energy.
Name Census estimates that about 233 living Americans carry the first name Ketra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ketra today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ketra births was 1975 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ketra. 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
233
~ 1 in 1,471,049 Americans
Peak year
1975
19 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1999 SSA rank
#15,654
Tracked since 1963
Census
Ketra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 281 people with the first name Ketra, 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
Black or African American
50.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ketra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ketra is Black at 50.9%. The next largest groups are White (44.1%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Ketra 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 Ketra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.9% · 143
- White44.1% · 124
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 7
- Two or more races1.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
Popularity
Ketra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ketra from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 125 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ketra 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 Ketra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ketras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ketra
The given name Ketra is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was the classical language of ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "ketra," which means "field" or "domain." The name is thought to have emerged during the Vedic period, which lasted from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
Ketra was a relatively uncommon name in ancient India, but it did appear in some historical texts and religious scriptures from that era. One notable mention is in the Mahabharata, a famous Sanskrit epic that dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In this epic, Ketra is mentioned as the name of a minor character, a warrior who fought in the great battle of Kurukshetra.
The earliest recorded individual with the name Ketra is believed to be a Buddhist monk who lived in the 5th century CE. This monk, known as Ketra Gupta, was a prominent figure in the Buddhist community of that time and is credited with establishing several monasteries and temples in the region that is now modern-day India and Nepal.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Ketra. One of the most famous was Ketra Nath Tiwari (1924-1987), an Indian politician and freedom fighter who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement. He served as a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and was later elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament.
Another notable Ketra was Ketra Datt Pande (1892-1970), an Indian philosopher and scholar who made significant contributions to the field of Advaita Vedanta, a branch of Hindu philosophy. He was a professor at several prestigious universities in India and wrote several influential books on Vedanta philosophy.
In the realm of art and literature, Ketra Singh (1867-1937) was a renowned Indian poet and writer who wrote in the Punjabi language. He is considered one of the pioneers of modern Punjabi literature and is best known for his poetry collection "Sarada Sagar," which celebrated the beauty and culture of the Punjab region.
Ketra Yadav (1923-2013) was an Indian classical singer and exponent of the Khyal style of Hindustani classical music. She was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, for her contributions to the field of music.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Ketra, which has its roots in the ancient Sanskrit language and culture of India.
People
Ketra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ketra 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
Ketra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ketra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 233 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ketra 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 1,471,049 US residents.
Is Ketra a common name?
We classify Ketra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 255 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ketra most popular?
The single biggest year for Ketra was 1975, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ketra is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ketra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 281 people with the name Ketra, 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 Ketra 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 Ketra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ketra leans strongly female. 276 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 6 male bearers (2.1%). 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 Ketra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ketra is Black at 50.9%. The next largest groups are White (44.1%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Ketra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ketra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.9% (143 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 Ketra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ketra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ketra 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 Ketra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ketra 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 Ketra 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 are called Ketra?
You can see how many Americans are named Ketra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.