Porchea
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "swine herder" or "pig keeper".
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the first name Porchea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Porchea today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Porchea births was 1989 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Porchea. 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
111
~ 1 in 3,087,877 Americans
Peak year
1989
18 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1994 SSA rank
#10,272
Tracked since 1983
Census
Porchea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 107 people with the first name Porchea, which placed it at #52,420 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
#52,420
National first-name rank
People counted
107
107 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Porchea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Porchea is Black at 73.8%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). 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 Porchea 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 Porchea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.8% · 79
- White10.3% · 11
- Two or more races8.4% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
Popularity
Porchea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Porchea from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 62 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Porchea 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 Porchea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Porcheas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Porchea
The name Porchea has its origins in ancient Greece, where it was derived from the Greek word "porphyra," meaning "purple." This name was likely given to individuals with a deep connection to the royal color purple, which was associated with royalty and nobility in ancient times.
In the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire, the name Porchea was used among the upper classes and aristocracy. It was seen as a name that conveyed a sense of elegance, refinement, and high social standing. The earliest recorded example of the name dates back to the 5th century AD, when a noblewoman named Porchea was mentioned in an official court document.
As the Byzantine Empire expanded, the name Porchea spread to various regions, including parts of modern-day Greece, Turkey, and the Balkans. It was adopted by families of Greek descent and gradually became more widespread among different social classes.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Porchea was a Byzantine empress who ruled in the 10th century AD. Known as Porchea the Wise, she was renowned for her intelligence, diplomatic skills, and patronage of the arts and sciences during her reign.
In the 12th century, a famous Byzantine scholar and philosopher named Porchea of Nicaea made significant contributions to the fields of logic and metaphysics. His works were widely studied and admired throughout the Byzantine Empire and beyond.
During the Renaissance period, the name Porchea gained popularity in Italy, particularly among the wealthy merchant classes. A notable figure was Porchea Medici (1473-1543), a member of the powerful Medici family and a patron of the arts who commissioned several famous works of art and architecture.
Another prominent figure was Porchea Borgia (1498-1557), a member of the infamous Borgia family and a influential figure in Renaissance Italy. She was known for her political savvy and her involvement in various intrigues and power struggles of the time.
In the 18th century, a French philosopher and writer named Porchea Diderot (1713-1784) gained fame for her contributions to the Enlightenment movement. Her works, which explored themes of reason, individualism, and social reform, had a significant impact on the intellectual discourse of the era.
These are just a few examples of the historical figures who bore the name Porchea and left their mark on various aspects of society, culture, and intellectual life throughout the centuries.
People
Porchea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Porchea 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
Porchea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Porchea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 111 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Porchea 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 3,087,877 US residents.
Is Porchea a common name?
We classify Porchea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 116 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Porchea most popular?
The single biggest year for Porchea was 1989, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Porchea is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Porchea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 107 people with the name Porchea, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,420 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 Porchea 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 Porchea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Porchea appears almost entirely female. Of the 105 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 Porchea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Porchea is Black at 73.8%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). 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 Porchea most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Porchea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.8% (79 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 Porchea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Porchea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Porchea 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 Porchea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Porchea 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 Porchea 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 Porchea?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.