Debbra
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "bee".
Name Census estimates that about 2,748 living Americans carry the first name Debbra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Debbra today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Debbra births was 1955 (260 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Debbra. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Debbra is about 65 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Debbras were born before 1971.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 124,729 Americans
Peak year
1955
260 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
2014 SSA rank
#15,053
Tracked since 1944
Census
Debbra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,093 people with the first name Debbra, which placed it at #5,517 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
#5,517
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,093 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Debbra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Debbra is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Debbra 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 Debbra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.5% · 2,646
- Black or African American6.9% · 213
- Two or more races3.5% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 23
Popularity
Debbra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Debbra from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 1,969 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Debbra 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 Debbra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Debbras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. California, Illinois, Michigan recorded the most babies named Debbra, while West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 68 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Debbra
The name Debbra is a variant of the given name Deborah, which has its roots in the Hebrew language. The name Deborah is derived from the Hebrew word "devorah," meaning "bee." This name is believed to have originated in ancient Israel, around the 12th century BCE.
In the Bible, Deborah was a prophetess and a judge who played a significant role in leading the Israelites against the Canaanites. Her story is recounted in the Book of Judges, where she is portrayed as a wise and courageous leader. This biblical reference has contributed to the enduring popularity of the name throughout history.
The earliest recorded use of the variant spelling "Debbra" dates back to the late 19th century. One of the first notable figures with this spelling was Debbra Paget, an American actress born in 1933, who appeared in various films and television shows during the 1950s and 1960s.
Another prominent individual named Debbra was Debbra Winger, an American actress born in 1955. She received several Academy Award nominations for her performances in films such as "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Terms of Endearment."
In the literary world, Debbra Adelaide Tanner (1933-2021) was an American author and journalist known for her work on mental health and social issues. Her book "The Anxiety Trap" became a widely acclaimed resource on managing anxiety disorders.
Debbra Lynne Stephens (born 1958) is an American singer and songwriter who achieved success in the 1980s as part of the pop duo The Forester Sisters. Their hit songs included "Mama's Hungry Eyes" and "I Fell in Love Again Last Night."
Debbra Kay Arnold (born 1959) is a retired American professional basketball player who competed in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for several teams, including the Seattle Storm and the Houston Comets.
While the name Debbra has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture, its variant spelling has gained popularity in more recent times, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. The name has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including actors, authors, musicians, and athletes, contributing to its enduring legacy.
People
Debbra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Debbra 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
Debbra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Debbra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,748 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Debbra 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 124,729 US residents.
Is Debbra a common name?
We classify Debbra as "Rare". It ranks above 94.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,652 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Debbra most popular?
The single biggest year for Debbra was 1955, when 260 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Debbra is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Debbra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,093 people with the name Debbra, or 1.02 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,517 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 Debbra 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 Debbra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Debbra appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,097 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Debbra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Debbra is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Debbra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Debbra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (2,646 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 Debbra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Debbra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Debbra 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 Debbra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Debbra 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 Debbra 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 called Debbra?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.