Desirae
A feminine name of French origin meaning "desired one".
Name Census estimates that about 12,639 living Americans carry the first name Desirae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Desirae today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Desirae births was 1993 (540 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Desirae. 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 Desirae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 27,119 Americans
Peak year
1993
540 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,851
Tracked since 1955
Census
Desirae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,021 people with the first name Desirae, which placed it at #2,462 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
#2,462
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,021 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Desirae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Desirae is White at 49.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.4%) and Black (15.3%). 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 Desirae 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 Desirae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.3% · 4,937
- Hispanic or Latino25.4% · 2,545
- Black or African American15.3% · 1,531
- Two or more races7.0% · 704
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 206
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 98
Popularity
Desirae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Desirae from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 4,613 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
Desirae 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 Desirae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Desiraes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Desirae, while Hawaii, Alaska, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 225 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Desirae
The name Desirae is a relatively modern English name, originating in the late 20th century. It is a feminine form of the French name Desiré, which is derived from the Latin word "desiderare," meaning "to desire" or "to long for."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Desirae dates back to the 1970s, when it started gaining popularity in the United States and other English-speaking countries. However, the name's roots can be traced back to the French language, where "Desiré" has been used as a masculine name for centuries.
While the name Desirae does not have a long historical record or any significant references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been borne by several notable individuals throughout the years. One of the earliest famous Desirae's was Desirae Gould, an American actress and model born in 1977, known for her roles in films such as "Killing Zoe" and "Blow."
Another notable Desirae was Desirae Krawczyk, a Canadian actress and singer born in 1985, who gained recognition for her role in the television series "Life with Derek." Desirae Merrifield, born in 1985, is an American fashion designer and entrepreneur known for her sustainable and ethical clothing line.
In the world of sports, Desirae Webb, born in 1986, is a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for teams such as the Los Angeles Sparks and the San Antonio Stars. Desirae Simmons, born in 1992, is an American track and field athlete who competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
While the name Desirae may not have a long and storied history like many other names, it has gained popularity in recent decades and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including the entertainment industry, fashion, sports, and more.
People
Desirae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Desirae 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
Desirae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Desirae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,639 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Desirae 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 27,119 US residents.
Is Desirae a common name?
We classify Desirae as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,094 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Desirae most popular?
The single biggest year for Desirae was 1993, when 540 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Desirae is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Desirae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,021 people with the name Desirae, or 3.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,462 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 Desirae 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 Desirae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Desirae appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,017 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 Desirae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Desirae is White at 49.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.4%) and Black (15.3%). 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 Desirae most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Desirae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.3% (4,937 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 Desirae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Desirae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Desirae 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 Desirae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Desirae 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 Desirae 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 common is the name Desirae?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Desirae on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.