Pheadra
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "brilliant".
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Pheadra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pheadra today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pheadra births was 1964 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pheadra. 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 Pheadra. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
1964
9 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1975 SSA rank
#6,952
Tracked since 1964
Popularity
Pheadra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pheadra from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 9 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pheadra 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 Pheadra 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 Pheadra
The name Pheadra is of Greek origin, derived from the ancient Greek word "phaedros," meaning "bright" or "radiant." It is believed to have first emerged during the classical period of ancient Greece, around the 5th century BCE.
In Greek mythology, Phaedra was the name of the daughter of Minos, the legendary king of Crete, and Pasiphaë. She was the wife of Theseus, the famous Athenian hero, and played a central role in the tragic myth of Hippolytus. The story of Phaedra's ill-fated love for her stepson Hippolytus was dramatized in plays by the ancient Greek tragedians Euripides and Seneca.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Pheadra was Phaedra of Athens, a 5th-century BCE Athenian woman who was a contemporary of the philosopher Socrates. She is mentioned in Plato's dialogue "Symposium" as one of the guests at a banquet hosted by the poet Agathon.
Throughout history, the name Pheadra has been borne by several notable individuals, including:
1. Phaedra Sinesius (born c. 370 CE), the wife of the bishop and philosopher Sinesius of Cyrene, who lived in the late Roman Empire.
2. Phaedra of Cappadocia (fl. 6th century CE), a Byzantine empress and the wife of Emperor Maurice.
3. Phaedra de Sanvitale (c. 1550–1615), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts during the Renaissance.
4. Phaedra Broughton (1886–1965), an Australian-born British actress and singer who performed in musical theatre and vaudeville.
5. Phaedra Parks (born 1973), an American entertainment attorney, author, and television personality, best known for her appearances on the reality TV series "The Real Housewives of Atlanta."
While the name Pheadra has its roots in ancient Greek culture, it has been used in various forms and spellings across different languages and regions over the centuries, reflecting the enduring influence of Greek mythology and literature.
People
Pheadra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pheadra 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
Pheadra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pheadra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pheadra 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Pheadra a common name?
We classify Pheadra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pheadra most popular?
The single biggest year for Pheadra was 1964, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pheadra is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Pheadra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pheadra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pheadra 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 Pheadra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pheadra 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 Pheadra 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Pheadra?
Find out how many people share the name Pheadra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.