Lerae
A feminine name with uncertain origins, possibly derived from the word "lore".
Name Census estimates that about 60 living Americans carry the first name Lerae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lerae today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lerae births was 1970 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lerae. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lerae. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
60
~ 1 in 5,712,572 Americans
Peak year
1970
11 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1995 SSA rank
#12,663
Tracked since 1937
Census
Lerae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 191 people with the first name Lerae, which placed it at #39,504 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
#39,504
National first-name rank
People counted
191
191 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lerae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lerae is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Two or More Races (8.9%). 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 Lerae 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 Lerae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.7% · 114
- Black or African American16.8% · 32
- Two or more races8.9% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.3% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 5
Popularity
Lerae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lerae from the 1930s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 30 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
Lerae 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 Lerae 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 Lerae
The name Lerae is believed to have originated from the ancient Etruscan civilization, which flourished in what is now modern-day Italy during the 8th to 3rd centuries BC. It is thought to be derived from the Etruscan word "lerae," meaning "gentle" or "serene."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lerae can be found in an Etruscan inscription dating back to the 5th century BC. This inscription was discovered near the city of Chiusi and is believed to have been a dedication to a goddess or priestess bearing the name.
The name Lerae was relatively uncommon in ancient times, but there are a few notable historical figures who bore this moniker. One such figure was Lerae Vipinia, a wealthy Etruscan noblewoman who lived in the 4th century BC and was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of local temples.
Another notable Lerae was Lerae Claudia, a Roman woman from the 1st century AD who was renowned for her beauty and intelligence. She was said to have been a close friend and confidante of the Roman empress Livia, and her name is mentioned in several ancient texts.
In the Middle Ages, the name Lerae was adopted by a few individuals, though it remained relatively rare. One such person was Lerae of Siena, a 13th-century Italian nun and mystic who was renowned for her visions and writings on spiritual matters.
During the Renaissance period, the name Lerae experienced a slight resurgence in popularity, particularly in Italy. One notable bearer of the name from this era was Lerae Borgia, an Italian noblewoman who lived in the 15th century and was known for her beauty and intelligence.
Throughout history, the name Lerae has remained relatively uncommon, but it has been borne by a few notable individuals across various cultures and time periods. Despite its ancient origins, the name has managed to endure and continues to be used, albeit sparingly, to this day.
People
Lerae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lerae as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lerae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lerae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 60 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lerae 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 5,712,572 US residents.
Is Lerae a common name?
We classify Lerae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 74 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lerae most popular?
The single biggest year for Lerae was 1970, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lerae is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lerae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 191 people with the name Lerae, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,504 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 Lerae 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 Lerae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lerae leans strongly female. 183 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Lerae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lerae is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Two or More Races (8.9%). 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 Lerae most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lerae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (114 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 Lerae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lerae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lerae 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 Lerae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lerae 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 Lerae 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 Lerae?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Lerae at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.