Debria
An English feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the French word "débris" meaning "fragmented pieces".
Name Census estimates that about 232 living Americans carry the first name Debria. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Debria today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Debria births was 1956 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Debria. 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
232
~ 1 in 1,477,389 Americans
Peak year
1956
23 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2002 SSA rank
#12,544
Tracked since 1949
Census
Debria in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 289 people with the first name Debria, which placed it at #30,250 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
#30,250
National first-name rank
People counted
289
289 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Debria
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Debria is Black at 51.6%. The next largest groups are White (40.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.8%). 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 Debria 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 Debria at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.6% · 149
- White40.5% · 117
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 8
- Two or more races2.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 7
Popularity
Debria: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Debria from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 154 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
Debria 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 Debria 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 Debria
The name Debria is believed to have its origins in ancient Greek culture, dating back to the 5th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word "debros," meaning "strong" or "powerful." The name was originally given to children born into families of warriors or those with a strong military heritage.
In ancient Greek mythology, Debria was the name of a minor goddess associated with strength and courage. She was often depicted alongside the more prominent gods of war, such as Ares and Athena. While not widely worshipped, her presence in mythological texts suggests the name held significance in ancient Greek society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Debria can be found in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a Spartan warrior by that name who fought bravely in the Peloponnesian War against Athens around 430 BC. However, details about this individual's life are scarce.
Throughout the centuries, the name Debria has been borne by several notable figures. In the 3rd century AD, a Roman woman named Debria Marcella was renowned for her skills as a philosopher and orator. She was highly educated and respected in her time, although few written records of her work have survived.
During the Byzantine era, a powerful empress named Debria Theodora ruled over the Eastern Roman Empire from 1042 to 1056. She was known for her political acumen and her efforts to maintain the empire's stability during a turbulent period.
In more recent times, Debria Pelt was a Dutch painter who lived in the 17th century and gained recognition for her vivid landscape paintings. Her works are still exhibited in various museums across Europe.
Another notable figure was Debria Montague, a British actress and playwright active in the early 19th century. She wrote several popular plays and was praised for her performances on the London stage.
While the name Debria is not as common today as it once was, it still carries a sense of strength and power rooted in its ancient Greek origins. Its meaning and historical significance have endured over centuries, making it a unique and intriguing choice for a given name.
People
Debria + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Debria 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
Debria: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Debria?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 232 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Debria 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 1,477,389 US residents.
Is Debria a common name?
We classify Debria as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 297 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Debria most popular?
The single biggest year for Debria was 1956, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Debria is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Debria in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 289 people with the name Debria, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,250 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 Debria 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 Debria?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Debria leans strongly female. 290 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 6 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Debria?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Debria is Black at 51.6%. The next largest groups are White (40.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.8%). 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 Debria most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Debria in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.6% (149 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 Debria in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Debria a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Debria 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 Debria still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Debria 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 Debria 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 Debria?
Want to know how many people have the name Debria? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.