Darra
A variant of the Irish feminine name Daire meaning "fruitful" or "fertile".
Name Census estimates that about 451 living Americans carry the first name Darra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Darra today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darra births was 1980 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darra. 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 Darra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
451
~ 1 in 759,987 Americans
Peak year
1980
20 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2018 SSA rank
#12,801
Tracked since 1949
Census
Darra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 538 people with the first name Darra, which placed it at #19,583 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
#19,583
National first-name rank
People counted
538
538 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darra is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Black (19.0%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Darra 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 Darra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.5% · 363
- Black or African American19.0% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 25
- Two or more races4.3% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 6
Popularity
Darra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darra from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 114 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darra 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 Darra 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 Darra
The name Darra is a feminine given name with origins tracing back to ancient Persian and Middle Eastern cultures. It is believed to have derived from the Persian word "darya," meaning "sea" or "ocean." This connection to water and the vastness of the seas lends the name a sense of depth and expansiveness.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Darra can be found in the ancient Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century. In the poem, Darra is mentioned as a beautiful and virtuous princess, celebrated for her grace and wisdom.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Darra gained popularity in various regions of the Middle East, particularly in areas influenced by Persian culture. It was often associated with qualities such as strength, resilience, and adaptability, much like the ever-changing tides of the sea.
In the 13th century, Darra was the name of a renowned Kurdish poet and philosopher who wrote extensively on topics ranging from love and spirituality to the nature of existence. Her works were widely celebrated and contributed to the cultural and intellectual discourse of the time.
During the Ottoman Empire, which spanned from the 13th to the early 20th century, the name Darra was embraced by various ethnic groups within the empire's borders, including Turks, Arabs, and Persians. It was particularly popular among families with ties to the sea or maritime traditions.
One of the most prominent historical figures bearing the name Darra was Darra Shikoh, a Mughal prince and philosopher who lived in the 17th century. He was known for his efforts to promote religious tolerance and understanding between different faiths, as well as his contributions to the arts and literature.
In more recent times, notable individuals named Darra include Darra Singh, an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who played a significant role in the struggle for independence from British rule in the early 20th century.
Another remarkable woman named Darra was Darra Goldstein, a renowned Russian-American scholar and author known for her work on Russian cuisine and culture. She has written numerous books and articles exploring the rich traditions and history of Russian gastronomy.
While the name Darra has its roots in ancient Persian and Middle Eastern cultures, it has since transcended geographical boundaries and been adopted by families around the world, each imbuing it with their own cultural significance and personal connections.
People
Darra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darra as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Darra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 451 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darra 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 759,987 US residents.
Is Darra a common name?
We classify Darra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 510 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darra most popular?
The single biggest year for Darra was 1980, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darra is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 538 people with the name Darra, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,583 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 Darra 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 Darra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darra leans strongly female. 499 people counted with this name were female (92.6%), compared with 40 male bearers (7.4%). 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 Darra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darra is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Black (19.0%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Darra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Darra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.5% (363 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 Darra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Darra 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 Darra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darra 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 Darra 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 Darra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.