Catera
Of Latin origin, meaning "chain" or "series".
Name Census estimates that about 388 living Americans carry the first name Catera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Catera today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Catera births was 1998 (113 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Catera. 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
388
~ 1 in 883,387 Americans
Peak year
1998
113 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2007 SSA rank
#15,871
Tracked since 1996
Census
Catera in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 334 people with the first name Catera, which placed it at #27,416 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
#27,416
National first-name rank
People counted
334
334 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
76.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Catera
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Catera is Black at 76.0%. The next largest groups are White (13.5%) 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 Catera 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 Catera at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.0% · 254
- White13.5% · 45
- Two or more races5.1% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Catera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Catera from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 262 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Catera remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Catera 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 Catera during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cateras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Michigan, Florida, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Catera, while Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Catera
The name Catera has its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization, which flourished in what is now modern-day Italy from around the 8th century BCE to the 1st century BCE. The name is derived from the Etruscan word "cater," which means "leader" or "chief."
In the Etruscan culture, the name Catera was likely given to individuals who were born into noble or ruling families, or who displayed leadership qualities from a young age. It is possible that the name was also used as a title or honorific for Etruscan rulers or military leaders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Catera can be found in an Etruscan inscription from the 6th century BCE, where it appears to have been the name of a high-ranking official or nobleman. However, the name does not appear to have been widely used outside of the Etruscan civilization during that time period.
It was not until several centuries later that the name Catera began to appear more frequently in historical records. In the 12th century, a Catera Farnese was a prominent Italian noblewoman and the wife of a powerful feudal lord. She is known to have played a significant role in the political and military affairs of her family's domains.
Another notable figure with the name Catera was Catera Malaspina, an Italian poet and writer who lived in the 13th century. She was renowned for her literary works, which explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
In the 15th century, Catera Sforza was an Italian noblewoman and military leader who played a crucial role in the defense of her family's territories during the Italian Wars. She is remembered for her bravery and strategic acumen on the battlefield.
During the Renaissance period, the name Catera gained popularity among the Italian nobility and was used by several prominent families. One such individual was Catera Borgia, a member of the powerful Borgia family, who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
While the name Catera has its roots in ancient Etruscan culture, it has maintained a presence throughout various periods of history, often associated with individuals of noble or influential status. These examples demonstrate the enduring legacy of this name, which continues to carry connotations of leadership and prestige.
People
Catera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Catera as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Catera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Catera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 388 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Catera 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 883,387 US residents.
Is Catera a common name?
We classify Catera as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 397 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Catera most popular?
The single biggest year for Catera was 1998, when 113 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Catera 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 Catera in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 334 people with the name Catera, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,416 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 Catera 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 Catera?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Catera leans strongly female. 334 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Catera?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Catera is Black at 76.0%. The next largest groups are White (13.5%) 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 Catera most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Catera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.0% (254 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 Catera in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Catera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Catera 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 Catera still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Catera 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 Catera 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 Americans are named Catera?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.