Hydeia
A feminine given name of uncertain origin, possibly Greek.
Name Census estimates that about 208 living Americans carry the first name Hydeia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hydeia today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hydeia births was 1996 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hydeia. 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
208
~ 1 in 1,647,857 Americans
Peak year
1996
72 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2003 SSA rank
#14,529
Tracked since 1993
Census
Hydeia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 187 people with the first name Hydeia, which placed it at #40,012 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
#40,012
National first-name rank
People counted
187
187 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hydeia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hydeia is Black at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and White (2.1%). 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 Hydeia 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 Hydeia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.7% · 164
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 11
- White2.1% · 4
- Two or more races2.1% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 2
Popularity
Hydeia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hydeia from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 184 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
Hydeia 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 Hydeia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hydeias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. North Carolina, California, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Hydeia, while New York, New Jersey, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hydeia
The name Hydeia has its origins in ancient Greece, deriving from the Greek word "hydor," which means "water." It is believed to have emerged during the classical period of Greek civilization, which spanned from the 5th to the 4th century BCE.
In Greek mythology, there are references to Hydeia as a minor goddess associated with the cultivation of plants and the management of water resources. Her name is often linked to the concept of hydroponic gardening, which involves growing plants without soil, using nutrient-rich water solutions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hydeia can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BCE. He mentioned a priestess named Hydeia who served in the temple of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, in the city of Eleusis.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Hydeia. In the 3rd century BCE, there was a renowned Greek scholar and poet named Hydeia of Thessaly, who wrote extensively on the subjects of botany and horticulture. Unfortunately, her works have been lost to time.
During the Byzantine era, a noblewoman named Hydeia of Constantinople (c. 1050 CE - 1120 CE) was celebrated for her philanthropic efforts and her patronage of the arts. She commissioned several churches and monasteries in the city, leaving a lasting architectural legacy.
In the 16th century, Hydeia Vettori (1499 - 1567) was an Italian humanist scholar and translator who played a significant role in the revival of classical Greek literature during the Renaissance period.
Another notable figure was Hydeia Papadopoulou (1821 - 1898), a Greek educator and activist who fought for women's rights and advocated for the establishment of schools for girls in her homeland.
In more recent times, Hydeia Broadbent (born 1984) is an American activist and public speaker who became an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness and education after being diagnosed with the virus at birth.
While the name Hydeia may not be as common today as it once was, its roots in ancient Greek language and mythology have left an indelible mark on the historical significance of this unique and captivating name.
People
Hydeia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hydeia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hydeia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hydeia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 208 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hydeia 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 1,647,857 US residents.
Is Hydeia a common name?
We classify Hydeia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.7% 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 Hydeia most popular?
The single biggest year for Hydeia was 1996, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hydeia is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hydeia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 187 people with the name Hydeia, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,012 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 Hydeia 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 Hydeia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hydeia leans strongly female. 186 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Hydeia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hydeia is Black at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and White (2.1%). 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 Hydeia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Hydeia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.7% (164 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 Hydeia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hydeia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hydeia 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 Hydeia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hydeia 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 Hydeia 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 Hydeia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.