Kerra
An invented name perhaps of Irish origin, meaning uncertain.
Name Census estimates that about 1,101 living Americans carry the first name Kerra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kerra today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kerra births was 1997 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kerra. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kerra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 311,312 Americans
Peak year
1997
44 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2019 SSA rank
#14,703
Tracked since 1956
Census
Kerra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,085 people with the first name Kerra, which placed it at #11,692 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
#11,692
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,085 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kerra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kerra is White at 62.9%. The next largest groups are Black (22.9%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Kerra 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 Kerra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.9% · 683
- Black or African American22.9% · 248
- Two or more races6.7% · 73
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 16
Popularity
Kerra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kerra from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 337 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Kerra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kerra 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 Kerra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kerras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kerra
The name Kerra is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, spoken by the Norse people who inhabited Scandinavia and parts of modern-day Germany and France between the 8th and 13th centuries. The name is likely derived from the Old Norse word "kerra," which means "warrior" or "fighter."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kerra can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of stories and historical records from the 13th century. In the Saga of Grettir the Strong, a character named Kerra is mentioned as a skilled warrior who fought alongside the legendary Icelandic hero, Grettir.
During the Viking Age, from around the 8th to the 11th century, the name Kerra was commonly used among Norse communities, particularly in Iceland and Norway. It was a popular choice for parents who wished to instill the qualities of strength and bravery in their sons.
In the medieval period, the name Kerra appeared in various historical documents and records across Scandinavia. One notable figure was Kerra Magnusson, a Norwegian chieftain who lived in the 12th century and was known for his military prowess and leadership during the conflicts between rival clans.
Another historically significant Kerra was Kerra Thorvaldsdottir, an Icelandic poet and skald (court poet) who lived in the 13th century. She is renowned for her poetic works that celebrated Norse mythology and the exploits of Viking heroes.
In the 16th century, a Swedish nobleman named Kerra Sture played a crucial role in the Swedish War of Liberation against Denmark. He was a skilled military commander and is remembered for his bravery and strategic prowess on the battlefield.
Throughout history, the name Kerra has been associated with individuals who embodied the characteristics of strength, courage, and a warrior spirit. While its usage has declined in modern times, it remains a name with a rich historical legacy, particularly in the Norse and Scandinavian cultures.
People
Kerra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kerra 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
Kerra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kerra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,101 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kerra 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 311,312 US residents.
Is Kerra a common name?
We classify Kerra as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,149 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kerra most popular?
The single biggest year for Kerra was 1997, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kerra is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kerra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,085 people with the name Kerra, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,692 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 Kerra 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 Kerra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kerra appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,084 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 Kerra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kerra is White at 62.9%. The next largest groups are Black (22.9%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Kerra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kerra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.9% (683 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 Kerra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kerra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kerra 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 Kerra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kerra 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 Kerra 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 Kerra as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Kerra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.