Aura
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "a breeze" or "breath of air".
Name Census estimates that about 3,865 living Americans carry the first name Aura. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aura today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aura births was 2024 (309 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aura. 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 Aura with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.9K
~ 1 in 88,682 Americans
Peak year
2024
309 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2022 SSA rank
#872
Tracked since 1881
Census
Aura in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,769 people with the first name Aura, which placed it at #2,342 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
#2,342
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
10,769 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
84.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aura
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aura is Hispanic at 84.5%. The next largest groups are White (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Aura 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 Aura at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino84.5% · 9,097
- White10.1% · 1,092
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 244
- Black or African American1.6% · 175
- Two or more races1.3% · 140
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 21
Gender
Gender distribution for Aura
Out of the 4,684 babies given the name Aura since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Aura as a male name
- Ranked #12,537 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2022 (5 births)
Aura as a female name
- Ranked #872 in 2024
- 309 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (309 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aura appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,770 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Aura: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aura from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 1,267 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
Aura 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 Aura during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Auras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Aura, while Nevada, Indiana, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 82 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aura
The name Aura has its roots in ancient Latin, derived from the word "aura" which means "gentle breeze" or "breath of air." It was originally used as a poetic term to symbolize the life force or essence that surrounded a person or object. The name gained popularity during the Roman era, particularly among philosophers and writers who were drawn to its metaphysical connotations.
In Greek mythology, Aura was the name of a minor deity associated with cool, gentle breezes. She was often depicted as a beautiful, winged maiden who carried refreshing winds to those she favored. This association with tranquility and serenity further contributed to the name's allure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aura can be found in the works of the Roman poet Ovid, who lived from 43 BC to 17 AD. In his famous work "Metamorphoses," Ovid writes about a character named Aura, who was a nymph and companion to the goddess Diana.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Aura. One of the most famous was Aura Anaxibia (c. 625 BC), a legendary Greek poetess from the island of Lesbos. She was renowned for her lyrical compositions and is often credited as one of the earliest known female poets in Western literature.
In the 13th century, Aura de Vere (c. 1210-1280) was an English noblewoman and the wife of William de Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle. She played a significant role in the political affairs of her time and was known for her intelligence and influence.
During the Renaissance, Aura Navarra (c. 1490-1544) was an Italian painter and one of the few women artists of her era. Her works, which included religious paintings and portraiture, were highly acclaimed and can still be found in various museums and galleries.
In more recent times, Aura Estrada (1890-1975) was a Mexican writer and feminist activist who fought for women's rights and gender equality. Her novels and essays explored themes of social injustice and the struggles faced by women in her country.
Another notable figure was Aura Herrera (1928-2017), a Colombian fashion designer and entrepreneur who introduced the concept of ready-to-wear clothing to Latin America. Her innovative designs and business acumen made her a pioneering figure in the fashion industry.
People
Aura + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aura 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
Aura: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aura?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,865 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aura 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 88,682 US residents.
Is Aura a common name?
We classify Aura as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,684 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aura most popular?
The single biggest year for Aura was 2024, when 309 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aura is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aura in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,769 people with the name Aura, or 3.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,342 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 Aura 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 Aura?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aura appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,770 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Aura?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aura is Hispanic at 84.5%. The next largest groups are White (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Aura most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Aura in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (9,097 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 Aura in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aura a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Aura 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 Aura still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aura 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 Aura 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 are named Aura?
Find out how many Americans are named Aura on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.