Myra
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "myrrh" or "precious anointing oil".
Name Census estimates that about 36,820 living Americans carry the first name Myra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Myra today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Myra births was 1958 (1,295 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Myra. 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 Myra with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Myra is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 51 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
37K
~ 1 in 9,309 Americans
Peak year
1958
1,295 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1986 SSA rank
#646
Tracked since 1880
Census
Myra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 42,501 people with the first name Myra, which placed it at #1,010 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
#1,010
National first-name rank
People counted
43K
42,501 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
14.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Myra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Myra is White at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.4%) and Black (15.5%). 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 Myra 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 Myra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.1% · 23,007
- Hispanic or Latino16.4% · 6,957
- Black or African American15.5% · 6,597
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.1% · 4,296
- Two or more races2.7% · 1,140
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 504
Gender
Gender distribution for Myra
Out of the 63,534 babies given the name Myra since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Myra as a male name
- Ranked #5,740 in 1986
- 7 male births in 1986
- Peak: 1958 (8 births)
Myra as a female name
- Ranked #646 in 2024
- 453 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1958 (1,287 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Myra appears almost entirely female. Of the 42,505 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Myra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Myra from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 10,391 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Myra 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 Myra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Myras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. New York, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Myra, while Wyoming, New Hampshire, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,103 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Myra
The name Myra has its origins in the ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to around the 5th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word "myron," which means "sweet-smelling oil" or "perfume." This name was likely given to children in hopes that they would grow up to be as sweet-smelling and pleasant as the fragrant oils of the time.
In ancient Greek mythology, Myra was the name of an Amazon warrior princess, known for her strength and bravery in battle. The name was also associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite, who was often depicted holding a myrrh plant, which was used to make fragrant oils and incense.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Myra can be found in the New Testament of the Bible. Myra was a city in ancient Lycia (modern-day Turkey), where the apostle Paul is said to have changed ships during his journey to Rome, as mentioned in the Book of Acts.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Myra. In the 4th century AD, Saint Myra was a Christian martyr who was killed for her faith during the persecution of Christians in ancient Rome. Another famous Myra was Myra Hindley (1942-2002), a British serial killer who, along with her partner Ian Brady, committed the infamous "Moors Murders" in the 1960s.
On a more positive note, Myra Hess (1890-1965) was a renowned British pianist and a champion of classical music during World War II. Her lunchtime concert series at the National Gallery in London provided solace and entertainment to many during the Blitz. Myra Breckinridge (1968) was also the title of a satirical novel by American writer Gore Vidal, which explored themes of gender identity and sexuality.
Another notable figure was Myra Bradwell (1831-1894), an American publisher and activist who fought for the rights of women to practice law in the United States. Despite being denied admission to the Illinois bar in 1869, her persistent efforts paved the way for future generations of women lawyers.
People
Myra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Myra as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Myra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Myra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36,820 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Myra 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 9,309 US residents.
Is Myra a common name?
We classify Myra as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 63,534 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Myra most popular?
The single biggest year for Myra was 1958, when 1,295 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Myra is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Myra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 42,501 people with the name Myra, or 14.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,010 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 Myra 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 Myra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Myra appears almost entirely female. Of the 42,505 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Myra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Myra is White at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.4%) and Black (15.5%). 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 Myra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Myra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.1% (23,007 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 Myra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Myra a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Myra 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 Myra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Myra 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 Myra 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 Myra as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Myra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.