Kedra
A feminine name possibly derived from ancient Greek words relating to cedar trees.
Name Census estimates that about 508 living Americans carry the first name Kedra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kedra today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kedra births was 1979 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kedra. 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
508
~ 1 in 674,713 Americans
Peak year
1979
31 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2003 SSA rank
#14,793
Tracked since 1962
Census
Kedra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 544 people with the first name Kedra, 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
Black or African American
73.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kedra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kedra is Black at 73.0%. The next largest groups are White (20.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Kedra 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 Kedra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.0% · 397
- White20.8% · 113
- Two or more races3.3% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
Popularity
Kedra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kedra from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 194 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
Kedra 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 Kedra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kedras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Louisiana, Georgia, Florida recorded the most babies named Kedra, while Florida, Georgia, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kedra
The name Kedra is believed to have its origins in ancient Greece, derived from the Greek word "kedros," which means "cedar tree." The cedar tree held significant symbolic meaning in Greek mythology and was associated with strength, longevity, and protection.
One of the earliest known references to the name Kedra can be found in the works of the Greek poet Hesiod, who lived around the 8th century BC. In his epic poem "Works and Days," he mentions a character named Kedra, though it is unclear whether this was a real person or a fictional character.
During the Byzantine era, which spanned from the 4th to the 15th century AD, the name Kedra gained popularity among the Greek population. It was particularly favored by families with ties to the Eastern Orthodox Church, as the cedar tree held religious significance and was often used in the construction of religious buildings and objects.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Kedra of Trebizond lived in the Byzantine Empire. She was a renowned scholar and philosopher, known for her work in the field of logic and her contributions to the intellectual life of the empire.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Kedra Kapodistrias (1776-1857) was a prominent Greek politician and diplomat. He served as the first head of state of modern Greece after the country gained independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Another notable figure with the name Kedra was Kedra Mallick (1898-1983), an Indian social reformer and activist. She played a crucial role in the Indian independence movement and worked tirelessly to improve the lives of women and children in her country.
In the 20th century, Kedra Navrátilová (1916-2010) was a Czech writer and translator. She was known for her translations of works by prominent authors such as Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck into the Czech language.
While the name Kedra has its roots in ancient Greece and was popular during the Byzantine era, it has since been used across various cultures and regions, though its usage has been relatively rare compared to other names.
People
Kedra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kedra as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kedra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kedra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 508 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kedra 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 674,713 US residents.
Is Kedra a common name?
We classify Kedra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 548 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kedra most popular?
The single biggest year for Kedra was 1979, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kedra is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kedra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 544 people with the name Kedra, 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 Kedra 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 Kedra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kedra appears almost entirely female. Of the 543 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Kedra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kedra is Black at 73.0%. The next largest groups are White (20.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Kedra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kedra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.0% (397 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 Kedra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kedra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kedra 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 Kedra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kedra 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 Kedra 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 Kedra as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Kedra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.