Desarae
A feminine name possibly derived from the combination of "desert" and "serenity".
Name Census estimates that about 1,727 living Americans carry the first name Desarae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Desarae today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Desarae births was 1998 (79 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Desarae. 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
1.7K
~ 1 in 198,468 Americans
Peak year
1998
79 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2022 SSA rank
#8,152
Tracked since 1968
Census
Desarae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,388 people with the first name Desarae, which placed it at #9,837 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
#9,837
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,388 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Desarae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Desarae is White at 49.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.3%) and Hispanic (20.2%). 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 Desarae 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 Desarae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.4% · 686
- Black or African American21.3% · 295
- Hispanic or Latino20.2% · 281
- Two or more races7.3% · 101
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 10
Popularity
Desarae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Desarae from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 640 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Desarae 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 Desarae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Desaraes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Desarae, while Wisconsin, Washington, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Desarae
The name Desarae is believed to have originated from the French language, specifically the word "désirée," which means "desired" or "longed for." It is a feminine name that emerged during the late 18th century in France.
The name Desarae is thought to be a variation or derivative of the more common French name "Désirée." This variation likely came about as the name traveled to other regions and underwent slight spelling modifications due to cultural influences or linguistic adaptations.
Historically, the name Desarae does not appear to have been widely documented in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or significant historical records. However, it is worth noting that the root word "désirée" has been present in the French language for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Desarae can be found in the late 19th century. Desarae Barnardo, an English philanthropist and founder of the Barnardo's charity organization for children, was born in 1845 and lived until 1905.
Another notable figure bearing the name Desarae was Desarae Wertheimer, a German-American composer and musician who lived from 1892 to 1962. She was known for her contributions to the development of modern classical music.
In the early 20th century, Desarae Montague was a French artist and painter who gained recognition for her vibrant landscapes and portraits. She lived from 1905 to 1987.
Desarae Fielding, an American author and poet, was born in 1928 and is remembered for her poignant works exploring themes of love, loss, and the human experience.
Desarae Cho, a South Korean actress and model, was born in 1983 and has appeared in numerous television shows and films, gaining popularity for her versatile performances.
It is important to note that while these individuals serve as examples of people who have borne the name Desarae throughout history, the name's origins and prevalence remain relatively obscure compared to more commonly used names.
People
Desarae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Desarae 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
Desarae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Desarae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,727 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Desarae 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 198,468 US residents.
Is Desarae a common name?
We classify Desarae as "Rare". It ranks above 93.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,794 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Desarae most popular?
The single biggest year for Desarae was 1998, when 79 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Desarae is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Desarae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,388 people with the name Desarae, or 0.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,837 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 Desarae 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 Desarae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Desarae appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,380 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Desarae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Desarae is White at 49.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.3%) and Hispanic (20.2%). 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 Desarae most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Desarae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.4% (686 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 Desarae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Desarae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Desarae 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 Desarae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Desarae 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 Desarae 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 share the name Desarae?
You can see how many Americans are named Desarae on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.