Arria
Meaning unknown, possibly from the Latin word for 'earnest' or 'sincere'.
Name Census estimates that about 336 living Americans carry the first name Arria. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arria today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arria births was 2013 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arria. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Arria with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
336
~ 1 in 1,020,102 Americans
Peak year
2013
41 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,615
Tracked since 1995
Census
Arria in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 331 people with the first name Arria, which placed it at #27,567 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
#27,567
National first-name rank
People counted
331
331 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
36.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arria
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arria is Black at 36.3%. The next largest groups are White (33.2%) and Two or More Races (13.9%). 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 Arria 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 Arria at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American36.3% · 120
- White33.2% · 110
- Two or more races13.9% · 46
- Hispanic or Latino12.4% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Arria: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arria from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 220 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arria 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 Arria 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 Arria
The name Arria is of ancient Roman origin, originating from the Latin word "arra" which means "pledge" or "earnest money." This name gained prominence during the Roman Empire, particularly in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
One of the earliest and most notable references to this name can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus. He recounts the story of Arria, a Roman matron who lived during the reign of the emperor Claudius in the 1st century AD. Arria's husband, Caecina Paetus, was ordered to commit suicide by the emperor, and she famously set an example for him by stabbing herself first, uttering the famous words "Paetus, it does not hurt."
Another historical figure bearing this name was Arria the Younger, the daughter of the aforementioned Arria. She was married to the Roman philosopher and statesman Thrasea Paetus, who was executed by the Emperor Nero in 66 AD for his opposition to the imperial regime. Arria the Younger was known for her unwavering devotion to her husband and her stoic virtue in the face of adversity.
During the 2nd century AD, there was a Roman noblewoman named Arria Fadilla, who was the wife of the Roman emperor Lucius Verus. She was known for her beauty and intelligence, and played an influential role in the imperial court during her husband's reign.
In the 4th century AD, there was a Christian martyr named Arria who was executed during the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Diocletian. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, and her feast day is celebrated on April 21st.
Another notable bearer of this name was Arria Galla, a Roman empress who lived in the 5th century AD. She was the wife of the Western Roman Emperor Avitus and played a significant role in the political affairs of the crumbling Western Roman Empire during its final years.
While the name Arria has its roots in ancient Rome, it has been used sporadically throughout history in various parts of Europe and the Mediterranean region, often as a nod to the influential Roman figures who bore this name. However, it remained relatively uncommon until more recent times.
People
Arria + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arria 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
Arria: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arria?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 336 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arria 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 1,020,102 US residents.
Is Arria a common name?
We classify Arria as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 339 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arria most popular?
The single biggest year for Arria was 2013, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arria is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arria in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 331 people with the name Arria, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,567 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 Arria 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 Arria?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arria appears almost entirely female. Of the 322 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Arria?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arria is Black at 36.3%. The next largest groups are White (33.2%) and Two or More Races (13.9%). 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 Arria most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Arria in the 2020 Census, accounting for 36.3% (120 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 Arria in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arria a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arria 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 Arria still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arria 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 Arria 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 share the name Arria?
Want to know how many Americans are named Arria? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.