Alera
Of Latin origin, meaning "winged" or "air".
Name Census estimates that about 288 living Americans carry the first name Alera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alera today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alera births was 2005 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alera. 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
288
~ 1 in 1,190,119 Americans
Peak year
2005
19 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,189
Tracked since 1999
Census
Alera in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 248 people with the first name Alera, which placed it at #33,395 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
#33,395
National first-name rank
People counted
248
248 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alera
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alera is White at 43.1%. The next largest groups are Black (31.5%) and Hispanic (12.9%). 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 Alera 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 Alera at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.1% · 107
- Black or African American31.5% · 78
- Hispanic or Latino12.9% · 32
- Two or more races8.9% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 3
Popularity
Alera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alera from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 134 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alera 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 Alera 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 Alera
The name Alera is of Latin origin, derived from the word "alere," which means "to nourish" or "to nurture." Its roots can be traced back to ancient Roman times, where it was likely used as a name to signify a nurturing or caring individual.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Alera gained some prominence as it was associated with Saint Alera, a 3rd-century martyr from Lyons, France. Her feast day is celebrated on June 16th in the Catholic Church, and she is revered as a symbol of faith and perseverance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alera can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who mentioned an Alera Antonia, a noblewoman from the 1st century BC. However, it is uncertain whether this was her given name or a reference to her family lineage.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Alera remained relatively uncommon but was occasionally used by noble families across Europe. One notable figure was Alera of Burgundy (c. 1060-1109), a Countess of Burgundy and Duchess of Brabant, who played a significant role in the politics of the region during her lifetime.
In the Renaissance period, the name Alera experienced a slight resurgence, especially in Italy. One prominent figure was Alera Arrigoni (1492-1577), an Italian poet and scholar who was highly regarded for her literary works and her contributions to the intellectual circles of her time.
During the 19th century, the name Alera gained popularity in certain parts of Europe, particularly in Germany and the Scandinavian countries. One notable bearer of the name was Alera Munthe (1892-1976), a Swedish author and artist who was known for her children's books and illustrative works.
Another significant figure was Alera Thayer (1857-1935), an American educator and feminist activist who played a crucial role in promoting women's rights and advocating for equal educational opportunities in the United States.
While the name Alera is not as common today as it once was, it continues to be used in various parts of the world, often carrying the symbolism of nurturing, care, and strength.
People
Alera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alera as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Alera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 288 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alera 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 1,190,119 US residents.
Is Alera a common name?
We classify Alera as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 291 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alera most popular?
The single biggest year for Alera was 2005, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alera is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alera in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 248 people with the name Alera, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,395 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 Alera 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 Alera?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alera leans strongly female. 247 people counted with this name were female (97.6%), compared with 6 male bearers (2.4%). 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 Alera?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alera is White at 43.1%. The next largest groups are Black (31.5%) and Hispanic (12.9%). 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 Alera most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.1% (107 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 Alera in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alera 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 Alera still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alera 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 Alera 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 Alera?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Alera at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.