Palmyra
Ancient city and archaeological site in present-day Syria.
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Palmyra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Palmyra today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Palmyra births was 1917 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Palmyra. 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 Palmyra. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
1917
12 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2021 SSA rank
#14,811
Tracked since 1904
Popularity
Palmyra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Palmyra from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 31 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Palmyra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Palmyra 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 Palmyra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Palmyras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Palmyra
Palmyra is a given name that originates from the ancient city of Palmyra, located in present-day Syria. This city was an important desert oasis and trading center in the Syrian Desert during the ancient Greco-Roman period. The name Palmyra is derived from the Latin word "palma," meaning "palm tree," which is a reference to the city's lush palm groves and oasis-like setting.
The earliest known historical reference to the name Palmyra can be traced back to the 1st century AD, when the city was a part of the Roman Empire. The name gained popularity during this time, as Palmyra became an influential and prosperous city along the Silk Road trade routes. It was known for its impressive architecture, including the famous ruins of the Temple of Bel and the iconic Monumental Arch.
In the 3rd century AD, Palmyra rose to prominence under the leadership of Queen Zenobia, who ruled the Palmyrene Empire from 267 to 272 AD. Zenobia was a powerful and influential ruler who defied the Roman Empire and briefly conquered parts of modern-day Egypt, Turkey, and Lebanon. While she was eventually defeated by the Roman emperor Aurelian, Zenobia's legacy and the name Palmyra became closely associated with strength and resilience.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Palmyra was Palmyra Hoskins (1841-1928), an American pioneer and midwife who helped establish early settlements in Kansas and Colorado. Another notable figure was Palmyra Petri (1877-1916), a Swedish artist and painter known for her landscapes and portraits.
In the 20th century, Palmyra Tompkins (1901-1995) was an American writer and historian who authored several books on the history of New York City and Long Island. Palmyra Geraki (1916-1970) was a Greek actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions in the 1940s and 1950s.
More recently, Palmyra Brumfield (1944-2019) was an American lawyer and civil rights activist who played a significant role in desegregating public schools in Mississippi during the 1960s.
While the name Palmyra is not as common today as it was in the past, it remains a unique and historically significant name with connections to the ancient city and its rich cultural heritage.
People
Palmyra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Palmyra as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Palmyra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Palmyra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Palmyra 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Palmyra a common name?
We classify Palmyra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 77 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Palmyra most popular?
The single biggest year for Palmyra was 1917, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Palmyra is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Palmyra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Palmyra 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.