Quiara
A feminine name derived from the Tupi language meaning "true, beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 309 living Americans carry the first name Quiara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Quiara today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Quiara births was 1999 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Quiara. 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
309
~ 1 in 1,109,237 Americans
Peak year
1999
34 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2018 SSA rank
#17,565
Tracked since 1987
Census
Quiara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 273 people with the first name Quiara, which placed it at #31,391 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
#31,391
National first-name rank
People counted
273
273 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
65.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quiara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Quiara is Black at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.9%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Quiara 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 Quiara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American65.6% · 179
- Hispanic or Latino24.9% · 68
- Two or more races5.1% · 14
- White3.7% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
Popularity
Quiara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Quiara from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 162 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
Quiara 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 Quiara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Quiaras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Quiara
The name Quiara has its origins in the indigenous Tupi language, spoken by various ethnic groups in Brazil and other parts of South America. It is a feminine name derived from the Tupi word "kiá," which means "sun" or "sunlight." The earliest recorded instances of this name date back to the 16th century, during the initial colonization of Brazil by the Portuguese.
In Tupi mythology, the sun was revered as a powerful and life-giving force, and names associated with it were often bestowed upon children as a symbol of strength, radiance, and vitality. The name Quiara was likely used by the Tupi people to honor this celestial body and its significance in their culture.
While the name Quiara does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its association with the sun and its Tupi origins contribute to its rich cultural heritage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Quiara, though records of their exact birth and death dates are scarce. One such figure was Quiara, a Tupi woman who lived in the 17th century and was renowned for her bravery during the Portuguese colonization of Brazil. Another was Quiara, a Tupi chief who led her tribe in resisting the encroachment of European settlers in the 18th century.
In more recent times, Quiara Alegría Hudes (born 1977) is an American playwright and author who won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play "Water by the Spoonful." Quiara Ramírez (born 1990) is a Venezuelan actress known for her roles in television series and telenovelas.
Additionally, Quiara Alegría (born 1961) is a Puerto Rican poet and educator whose work explores themes of identity, language, and cultural heritage. Quiara Pascual (born 1986) is a Spanish singer and songwriter who has released several successful albums in Spain and Latin America.
While the name Quiara may not be as widely recognized as some other names, its rich cultural roots and connections to the sun and indigenous Tupi culture make it a unique and captivating choice.
People
Quiara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Quiara as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Q
Other first names starting with Q with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Quiara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Quiara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 309 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Quiara 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 1,109,237 US residents.
Is Quiara a common name?
We classify Quiara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 317 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Quiara most popular?
The single biggest year for Quiara was 1999, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Quiara is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Quiara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 273 people with the name Quiara, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,391 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 Quiara 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 Quiara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Quiara appears almost entirely female. Of the 273 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Quiara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Quiara is Black at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.9%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Quiara most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Quiara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.6% (179 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 Quiara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Quiara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Quiara 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 Quiara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Quiara 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 Quiara 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 Quiara?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Quiara at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.