Leara
A feminine name derived from Celtic roots, possibly meaning "Shining one".
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the first name Leara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leara today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leara births was 1922 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leara. 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 Leara with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
159
~ 1 in 2,155,688 Americans
Peak year
1922
13 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,997
Tracked since 1911
Census
Leara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 244 people with the first name Leara, which placed it at #33,765 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
#33,765
National first-name rank
People counted
244
244 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
40.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leara is White at 40.6%. The next largest groups are Black (37.3%) and Hispanic (13.1%). 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 Leara 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 Leara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White40.6% · 99
- Black or African American37.3% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino13.1% · 32
- Two or more races7.0% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Popularity
Leara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leara from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 59 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leara 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 Leara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leara
The given name Leara has its roots in the ancient Etruscan civilization that flourished in what is now modern-day Italy from around the 8th century BC to the 1st century BC. The name is believed to have originated from the Etruscan word "leara," which translates to "light" or "radiance."
Leara was a relatively common name among the Etruscan people, particularly in the region now known as Tuscany. It is found inscribed on several Etruscan artifacts, such as pottery and funerary monuments, suggesting its widespread use during that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leara appears in the Etruscan inscriptions found at the ancient city of Cerveteri, dating back to the 6th century BC. These inscriptions were discovered in the necropolis of the city, which was a significant burial site for the Etruscan nobility.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Leara. One of the most famous was Leara of Volterra (c. 300 BC), a renowned Etruscan priestess and oracle who was highly regarded for her wisdom and prophetic abilities. She is mentioned in the writings of the ancient Roman historian Livy.
Another historical figure with the name Leara was Leara Lucinia (c. 100 AD), a Roman noblewoman and philanthropist who was known for her generosity and support of the arts. She is credited with commissioning several public buildings and monuments in Rome during her lifetime.
In the Middle Ages, Leara Benedetta (c. 1180 - 1256) was an Italian nun and mystic who founded the Order of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church for her pious life and devotion to prayer.
During the Renaissance period, Leara Spina (1454 - 1523) was an Italian poet and scholar who gained recognition for her contributions to the literary and humanist movements of the time. Her works were widely celebrated and influential in the intellectual circles of Renaissance Italy.
In more recent times, Leara Colombo (1842 - 1920) was an Italian educator and women's rights advocate who played a significant role in promoting equal educational opportunities for girls and women in Italy during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
People
Leara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leara as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Leara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 159 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leara 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 2,155,688 US residents.
Is Leara a common name?
We classify Leara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 250 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leara most popular?
The single biggest year for Leara was 1922, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leara is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Leara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 244 people with the name Leara, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,765 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 Leara 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 Leara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leara appears almost entirely female. Of the 242 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Leara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leara is White at 40.6%. The next largest groups are Black (37.3%) and Hispanic (13.1%). 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 Leara most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Leara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.6% (99 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 Leara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leara 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 Leara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leara 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 Leara 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 Americans are named Leara?
See how many Americans are named Leara on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.