Pietra
From the Italian word for "stone", signifying strength and durability.
Name Census estimates that about 180 living Americans carry the first name Pietra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pietra today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pietra births was 2018 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pietra. 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 Pietra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
180
~ 1 in 1,904,191 Americans
Peak year
2018
16 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,381
Tracked since 1968
Census
Pietra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 448 people with the first name Pietra, which placed it at #22,278 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
#22,278
National first-name rank
People counted
448
448 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pietra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pietra is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Black (4.0%). 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 Pietra 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 Pietra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 380
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 39
- Black or African American4.0% · 18
- Two or more races2.2% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Pietra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pietra from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 103 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Pietra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pietra 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 Pietra 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 Pietra
The name Pietra finds its origins in the Italian language, derived from the Italian word "pietra," which translates to "stone" or "rock." This name has its roots in the ancient Roman culture, as Romans were known for their skilled masonry and architectural prowess involving stonework.
The name Pietra was likely used as a reference to one's steadfastness, strength, or endurance, akin to the resilience of a rock. It may have been bestowed upon individuals who displayed these qualities or worked with stone in some capacity, such as stonemasons or sculptors.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pietra can be traced back to the 13th century, where it appeared in historical records from the Italian city-state of Florence. During this time, the name was predominantly used within the Italian peninsula.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Pietra. One such figure was Pietra Grigioni (1543-1602), an Italian painter and engraver from the Renaissance period, known for her religious artwork and portraits.
Another notable Pietra was Pietra Melara (1684-1768), an Italian painter and sculptor from the Baroque era, renowned for her intricate carvings and sculptures adorning churches in Rome.
In the literary realm, Pietra Ligorio (1498-1583) was an Italian architect, antiquarian, and writer who authored several influential works on ancient Roman architecture and monuments.
Moving forward in time, Pietra Caprina (1845-1917) was an Italian educator and advocate for women's rights, who played a significant role in establishing educational opportunities for women in Italy during the late 19th century.
Lastly, Pietra Rivoli (born 1952) is a contemporary American economist and author, best known for her book "The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy," which explores the global supply chain of the garment industry.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Pietra throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields, from art and literature to education and economics.
People
Pietra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pietra as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pietra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pietra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 180 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pietra 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 1,904,191 US residents.
Is Pietra a common name?
We classify Pietra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 182 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pietra most popular?
The single biggest year for Pietra was 2018, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pietra is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pietra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 448 people with the name Pietra, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,278 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 Pietra 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 Pietra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pietra leans strongly female. 446 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 6 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Pietra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pietra is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Black (4.0%). 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 Pietra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pietra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (380 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 Pietra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pietra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pietra 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 Pietra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pietra 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 Pietra 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 the name Pietra?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Pietra, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.