Jerra
Of Native American Sioux origin, a variant spelling meaning "wind over the plains".
Name Census estimates that about 475 living Americans carry the first name Jerra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jerra today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jerra births was 1986 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jerra. 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
475
~ 1 in 721,588 Americans
Peak year
1986
19 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2017 SSA rank
#12,114
Tracked since 1941
Census
Jerra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 544 people with the first name Jerra, which placed it at #19,436 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
#19,436
National first-name rank
People counted
544
544 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jerra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jerra is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (13.4%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Jerra 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 Jerra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.0% · 408
- Black or African American13.4% · 73
- Two or more races5.3% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 7
Popularity
Jerra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jerra from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 112 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Jerra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jerra 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 Jerra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jerras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jerra
The name Jerra is a relatively rare and obscure name, with its origins shrouded in mystery. It is believed to have originated from an ancient Semitic language, possibly Aramaic or Phoenician, spoken in the region of modern-day Syria and Lebanon around the 1st millennium BC. The name may be derived from the root word "jrr," meaning "to flow" or "to pour," potentially referring to a flowing river or stream.
Despite its uncertain beginnings, the name Jerra has made occasional appearances throughout history. One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the writings of the renowned Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a Phoenician sailor named Jerra accompanying a maritime expedition around 500 BC. However, details about this individual's life and deeds remain scarce.
In the 3rd century AD, a Roman soldier named Jerra is mentioned in a fragmentary inscription discovered in the ruins of Palmyra, an ancient city in modern-day Syria. This inscription provides a tantalizing glimpse into the life of this soldier, but much of his story remains unknown.
During the Middle Ages, a monastery in northern Italy recorded the existence of a monk named Jerra in the 9th century AD. This monk is believed to have been a scribe and scholar, though little else is known about his life and contributions.
In the 16th century, a Portuguese explorer named Jerra da Silva is said to have accompanied the famous navigator Vasco da Gama on his voyages to India and the East Indies. While da Silva's exploits are not well-documented, his presence on these historic expeditions suggests he played a role in the age of exploration and discovery.
More recently, in the late 19th century, a French artist named Jerra Montpellier gained some recognition for her vibrant landscapes and portraits. Born in 1865 in the south of France, Montpellier's works were exhibited in several Parisian salons, but she remains a relatively obscure figure in the art world.
Throughout its history, the name Jerra has remained a rare and enigmatic choice, with only a handful of notable individuals bearing this moniker. Its origins and meaning continue to be a subject of speculation, adding to the intrigue and mystery surrounding this ancient name.
People
Jerra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jerra 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
Jerra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jerra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 475 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jerra 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 721,588 US residents.
Is Jerra a common name?
We classify Jerra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 522 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jerra most popular?
The single biggest year for Jerra was 1986, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jerra is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jerra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 544 people with the name Jerra, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,436 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 Jerra 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 Jerra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jerra leans strongly female. 519 people counted with this name were female (96.3%), compared with 20 male bearers (3.7%). 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 Jerra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jerra is White at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Black (13.4%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Jerra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jerra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.0% (408 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 Jerra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jerra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jerra 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 Jerra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jerra 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 Jerra 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 Jerra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.