Patra
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "leaf" or "feather".
Name Census estimates that about 408 living Americans carry the first name Patra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Patra today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Patra births was 1994 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Patra. 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
408
~ 1 in 840,084 Americans
Peak year
1994
34 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2004 SSA rank
#15,591
Tracked since 1919
Census
Patra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 552 people with the first name Patra, which placed it at #19,274 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
#19,274
National first-name rank
People counted
552
552 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Patra is White at 44.6%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.1%). 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 Patra 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 Patra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.6% · 246
- Black or African American34.2% · 189
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.1% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 30
- Two or more races3.6% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 6
Popularity
Patra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Patra from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 133 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Patra 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 Patra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Patras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Patra
The name Patra has its origins in the Sanskrit language, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "patra," which means "leaf" or "feather." The name's earliest recorded use dates back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, where it was often associated with nature, growth, and beauty.
One of the most notable historical references to the name Patra can be found in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In this ancient text, Patra is mentioned as the name of a warrior who fought alongside the Pandava princes during the great Kurukshetra War. This reference highlights the name's association with bravery and strength in ancient Indian culture.
The name Patra also holds significance in Buddhist philosophy, where it is associated with the concept of impermanence and the transitory nature of life. In some Buddhist texts, the name is used as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of existence, likening it to the brief lifespan of a leaf.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Patra. One of the earliest recorded examples is Patra Gupta (320-380 CE), an Indian philosopher and mathematician who made significant contributions to the development of the Hindu numeral system and the concept of zero.
Another famous Patra was Patra Sahni (1909-1992), an Indian archaeologist and paleobotanist who made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of plant fossils and played a crucial role in uncovering the ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
In the realm of literature, Patra Acharya (1936-1998) was a renowned Nepali poet and writer, known for her poignant works that explored themes of social injustice, feminism, and the human condition.
Moving to the world of sports, Patra Maugham (1928-2008) was a British athlete and Olympian who competed in the high jump event at the 1952 and 1956 Olympic Games.
Finally, in the field of art, Patra Pratimadevi (1961-present) is a celebrated Indian sculptor and installation artist, known for her innovative use of traditional materials and techniques to explore contemporary themes and narratives.
People
Patra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Patra 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
Patra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Patra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 408 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Patra 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 840,084 US residents.
Is Patra a common name?
We classify Patra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 517 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Patra most popular?
The single biggest year for Patra was 1994, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Patra is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Patra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 552 people with the name Patra, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,274 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 Patra 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 Patra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Patra appears almost entirely female. Of the 549 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Patra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Patra is White at 44.6%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.1%). 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 Patra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Patra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.6% (246 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 Patra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Patra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Patra 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 Patra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Patra 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 Patra 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 Patra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.