Petrea
Derived from the Greek word "petros" meaning "rock".
Name Census estimates that about 42 living Americans carry the first name Petrea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Petrea today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Petrea births was 1942 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Petrea. 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
- • The typical person named Petrea is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Petreas were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Petrea. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
42
~ 1 in 8,160,818 Americans
Peak year
1942
10 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1978 SSA rank
#10,947
Tracked since 1941
Census
Petrea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 193 people with the first name Petrea, which placed it at #39,252 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
#39,252
National first-name rank
People counted
193
193 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Petrea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Petrea is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Petrea 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 Petrea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.9% · 160
- Black or African American8.3% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
- Two or more races1.0% · 2
Popularity
Petrea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Petrea from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 23 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Petrea remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Petrea 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 Petrea 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 Petrea
The name Petrea is of Latin origin, deriving from the Latin word "petra," which means "rock" or "stone." This name has been in use since ancient Roman times, with roots that can be traced back to the 1st century AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Petrea can be found in the writings of Pliny the Elder, a Roman author and naturalist who lived in the 1st century AD. In his work "Naturalis Historia," Pliny mentions a woman named Petrea who was known for her exceptional beauty.
During the Middle Ages, the name Petrea was associated with strength and resilience, much like the rock it derives from. In the 12th century, a French noblewoman named Petrea de Montfort was celebrated for her bravery and leadership during the Albigensian Crusade.
In the Renaissance period, the name Petrea gained popularity among the intellectual and artistic circles of Italy. One notable figure was Petrea Calderini, a renowned scholar and writer who lived in the 15th century and was praised for her contributions to the study of classical literature.
In the 17th century, Petrea Aurelia was a Swedish botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the field of plant taxonomy. Her work was instrumental in the development of the modern classification system for plants.
Another prominent figure with the name Petrea was Petrea von Lützow, a German poet and writer who lived in the 19th century. Her poetry was celebrated for its lyrical beauty and emotional depth, and she was considered a pioneering figure in the Romantic literary movement.
It is worth noting that while the name Petrea has been used throughout history, it has remained relatively rare compared to other names. This rarity has contributed to its distinctiveness and has made it a unique choice for parents seeking a name with a rich historical legacy.
People
Petrea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Petrea 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
Petrea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Petrea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 42 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Petrea 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 8,160,818 US residents.
Is Petrea a common name?
We classify Petrea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 63 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Petrea most popular?
The single biggest year for Petrea was 1942, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Petrea is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Petrea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 193 people with the name Petrea, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,252 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 Petrea 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 Petrea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Petrea leans strongly female. 189 people counted with this name were female (97.4%), compared with 5 male bearers (2.6%). 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 Petrea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Petrea is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Petrea most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Petrea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.9% (160 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 Petrea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Petrea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Petrea 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 Petrea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Petrea 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 Petrea 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 Petrea?
See how many people share the name Petrea on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.