Dierdra
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "wanderer" or "wild".
Name Census estimates that about 178 living Americans carry the first name Dierdra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dierdra today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dierdra births was 1965 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dierdra. 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
178
~ 1 in 1,925,586 Americans
Peak year
1965
17 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1993 SSA rank
#14,091
Tracked since 1944
Census
Dierdra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 234 people with the first name Dierdra, which placed it at #34,758 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
#34,758
National first-name rank
People counted
234
234 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dierdra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dierdra is White at 49.1%. The next largest groups are Black (41.0%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Dierdra 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 Dierdra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.1% · 115
- Black or African American41.0% · 96
- Two or more races5.1% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Dierdra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dierdra from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 120 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dierdra 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 Dierdra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dierdras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dierdra
The name Dierdra is believed to have originated from the Irish Gaelic language, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is a feminine form of the name Deidre, which is derived from the Old Irish name Derdriu or Deirdre, meaning "wanderer" or "sorrowful one."
This name is closely associated with the tragic heroine Deirdre from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. In the legendary tale, Deirdre was a beautiful young woman whose birth was foretold to bring conflict and destruction. Her story is one of love, betrayal, and ultimately, tragedy, as her elopement with the warrior Naoise led to their exile and eventual deaths.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dierdra can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The name appeared in entries related to notable figures from various Irish clans and families.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Dierdra. One such figure was Dierdra Burgess (1945-2011), an American actress known for her roles in films like "The Green Slime" and "The Candy Tangerine Man." Another was Dierdra McCloskey (born 1942), an American economist and writer who is known for her work on economic theory and her transition from male to female.
In the literary world, Dierdra McAfee (1931-2018) was an Irish poet and artist whose works explored themes of identity, nature, and the human experience. Additionally, Dierdra Retzler (born 1959) is an American author and educator who has written several books on personal growth and self-empowerment.
Another notable figure with the name Dierdra was Dierdra O'Sullivan (1927-2011), an Irish actress who had a successful career on stage and screen, appearing in productions like "The Riordans" and "The Irish R.M."
While the name Dierdra may have originated from Irish roots, it has since gained popularity in various parts of the world, transcending cultural and linguistic boundaries. The name's rich historical and mythological connections continue to captivate and inspire those who bear it, serving as a reminder of the enduring power of storytelling and cultural heritage.
People
Dierdra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dierdra 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
Dierdra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dierdra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 178 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dierdra 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 1,925,586 US residents.
Is Dierdra a common name?
We classify Dierdra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 214 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dierdra most popular?
The single biggest year for Dierdra was 1965, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dierdra is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dierdra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 234 people with the name Dierdra, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,758 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 Dierdra 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 Dierdra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dierdra appears almost entirely female. Of the 231 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 Dierdra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dierdra is White at 49.1%. The next largest groups are Black (41.0%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Dierdra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dierdra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.1% (115 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 Dierdra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dierdra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dierdra 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 Dierdra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dierdra 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 Dierdra 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 Dierdra?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Dierdra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.