Jera
An English name derived from the Proto-Germanic name "Gerhard", meaning "spear" or "warrior strength".
Name Census estimates that about 726 living Americans carry the first name Jera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jera today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jera births was 1980 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jera. 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
726
~ 1 in 472,113 Americans
Peak year
1980
27 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,175
Tracked since 1953
Census
Jera in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 811 people with the first name Jera, which placed it at #14,514 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
#14,514
National first-name rank
People counted
811
811 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jera
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jera is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Jera 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 Jera at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.0% · 608
- Black or African American9.5% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 47
- Two or more races4.8% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 19
Popularity
Jera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jera from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 195 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jera 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 Jera during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jeras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jera
The name Jera is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the ancient Scandinavian people. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "jer," which means "year" or "harvest season." This suggests that the name may have been associated with fertility, abundance, and the cyclical nature of life.
In the early medieval period, the name Jera was likely used by Norse tribes inhabiting regions such as modern-day Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and parts of northern Germany. It was not uncommon for names during this time to reflect the natural world or cultural traditions.
While the name Jera does not appear to be directly referenced in any major ancient texts or religious scriptures, it may have been used within Norse pagan traditions and folklore. The Vikings, who were the Norse people, had a rich oral tradition and belief system centered around nature and the cycles of the seasons.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Jera comes from the 10th century, when it was documented as a personal name among the Norse settlers in Iceland. This suggests that the name had already been in use for some time before its appearance in written records.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jera. One such person was Jera of Bamberg, a German noblewoman born in the late 11th century who became a prominent benefactor of religious institutions in her region. Another was Jera of Flanders, a 12th-century Flemish countess known for her involvement in the Crusades.
In the 13th century, Jera of Antwerp was a respected scholar and philosopher who contributed to the intellectual discourse of her time. A century later, Jera of Münster was a German abbess and spiritual leader who played a significant role in the religious life of her community.
Lastly, in the 16th century, Jera Brockmann was a German merchant and explorer who traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East, documenting her experiences in detailed journals that have become valuable historical records.
While these are just a few examples, the name Jera has been carried by individuals throughout various periods and regions, reflecting its enduring presence and potential significance within different cultural contexts.
People
Jera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jera as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 726 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jera 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 472,113 US residents.
Is Jera a common name?
We classify Jera as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 769 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jera most popular?
The single biggest year for Jera was 1980, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jera is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jera in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 811 people with the name Jera, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,514 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 Jera 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 Jera?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jera leans strongly female. 773 people counted with this name were female (95.1%), compared with 40 male bearers (4.9%). 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 Jera?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jera is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Jera most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.0% (608 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 Jera in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jera 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 Jera still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jera 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 Jera 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 have Jera as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.