Ura
Meaning rain or downpour in Japanese culture.
Name Census estimates that about 37 living Americans carry the first name Ura. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Ura today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ura births was 1916 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ura. 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 Ura is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Uras were born before 1957.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ura. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
37
~ 1 in 9,263,631 Americans
Peak year
1916
22 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1992 SSA rank
#6,667
Tracked since 1886
Census
Ura in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 309 people with the first name Ura, which placed it at #28,877 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
#28,877
National first-name rank
People counted
309
309 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ura
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ura is White at 66.3%. The next largest groups are Black (22.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%). 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 Ura 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 Ura at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.3% · 205
- Black or African American22.7% · 70
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.8% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 8
- Two or more races1.6% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Ura
Ura leans heavily female at 87.9% of total registrations, but 70 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ura as a male name
- Ranked #9,748 in 1992
- 5 male births in 1992
- Peak: 1915 (8 births)
Ura as a female name
- Ranked #6,667 in 1955
- 5 female births in 1955
- Peak: 1917 (17 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ura on both sides of the split. Of the 310 people counted with this name, 187 were male (60.3%) and 123 were female (39.7%).
Popularity
Ura: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ura from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 143 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ura 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 Ura during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Uras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ura
The name Ura has its origins in several ancient languages and cultures. It can trace its roots to the Sanskrit word "uras," meaning "breast" or "chest," suggesting a connection to concepts of nourishment and protection. Additionally, in the Sumerian language, "Ura" was a term used to refer to the "city-state" or "district."
One of the earliest mentions of the name Ura can be found in the ancient Vedic texts of India, where it was used to refer to a deity associated with strength and vitality. In the Rig Veda, a sacred Hindu scripture composed around 1500-1200 BCE, there are references to an entity called "Ura-bhru," which translates to "the one with broad brows."
In ancient Egypt, the name Ura was associated with the deity Uraeus, a symbol of divine authority and royalty. The Uraeus was depicted as a rearing cobra and was often worn as a headpiece by pharaohs, representing their power and legitimacy as rulers.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ura was Ura of Arrapkha, a ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, who lived around the 25th century BCE. Another notable figure was Ura-inimgina, a ruler of the city-state of Lagash in ancient Mesopotamia, who lived in the 24th century BCE and is known for his reforms and construction projects.
In Greek mythology, there is a figure named Ura, who was a minor sea nymph or Oceanid, one of the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. She was believed to represent the gentle swell of the sea.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ura was occasionally used in various parts of Europe, though its popularity was limited. One notable individual with this name was Ura of Jáchymov, a Bohemian nun and mystic who lived in the 15th century and was known for her visions and spiritual writings.
In more recent times, a few individuals with the name Ura have achieved some recognition. Ura Badores, born in 1910, was a Filipino painter and sculptor known for her works depicting traditional Filipino life and culture. Ura Vineet, born in 1983, is an Indian actress and model who has appeared in various Bollywood films and television shows.
While not as widely used as some other names, Ura has a rich history spanning multiple cultures and civilizations, often associated with concepts of strength, divinity, and natural forces.
People
Ura + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ura as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ura: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ura?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 37 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ura 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 9,263,631 US residents.
Is Ura a common name?
We classify Ura as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 578 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ura most popular?
The single biggest year for Ura was 1916, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ura is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ura in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 309 people with the name Ura, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,877 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 Ura 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 Ura?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ura on both sides of the split. Of the 310 people counted with this name, 187 were male (60.3%) and 123 were female (39.7%). 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 Ura?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ura is White at 66.3%. The next largest groups are Black (22.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%). 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 Ura most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ura in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.3% (205 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 Ura in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ura a female name?
Yes, 87.9% of people registered as Ura 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 Ura still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ura 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 Ura 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 have Ura as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.