Sierah
A feminine name of uncertain meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 198 living Americans carry the first name Sierah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sierah today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sierah births was 1996 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sierah. 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
198
~ 1 in 1,731,083 Americans
Peak year
1996
19 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2010 SSA rank
#19,447
Tracked since 1991
Census
Sierah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 192 people with the first name Sierah, which placed it at #39,369 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
#39,369
National first-name rank
People counted
192
192 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sierah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sierah is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.8%) and Black (14.6%). 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 Sierah 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 Sierah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.6% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino18.8% · 36
- Black or African American14.6% · 28
- Two or more races11.5% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2
Popularity
Sierah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sierah from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 104 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
Sierah 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 Sierah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sierahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sierah
The name Sierah is a unique and intriguing moniker with a captivating history that spans across various cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Sanskrit language, where it is believed to have derived from the word "siri," which translates to "beauty" or "radiance." This connection suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who were perceived as possessing a radiant and alluring presence.
During the early medieval period, the name gained popularity in parts of the Middle East, particularly in Persia (modern-day Iran) and the surrounding regions. In these areas, the name was often associated with the Persian goddess of love and beauty, Siraj, further reinforcing its ties to notions of physical attractiveness and grace.
As trade routes and cultural exchanges flourished across the ancient world, the name Sierah found its way into various corners of the globe, each region adapting and modifying its spelling and pronunciation to suit local linguistic traditions. In Europe, for instance, variations such as "Siria" and "Sienna" emerged, particularly in Italy and Spain, where they were often bestowed upon individuals with a radiant complexion or a warm, sun-kissed appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sierah can be found in the annals of Persian literature, where it appeared in the works of the renowned 12th-century poet Nizami Ganjavi. In his epic poem "Khusraw and Shirin," Nizami introduces the character Shirin, whose name is believed to be a variation of Sierah, further solidifying the name's association with beauty and grace in the Persian cultural tradition.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Sierah or one of its variations. In the 16th century, Siraj al-Din Muhammad Arshad, a renowned Islamic scholar and theologian from Persia, made significant contributions to the study of Islamic jurisprudence and theology. Another historical figure of note is Siria Fregoso, an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts who lived in the 15th century and played a pivotal role in the cultural renaissance of her native city, Genoa.
In the realm of literature, the name Sierah has been immortalized through the works of renowned authors. One such example is the character Sienna, a central figure in the novel "The Accidental Tourist" by Anne Tyler, published in 1985. The novel explores themes of love, loss, and the complexities of human relationships, further solidifying the name's association with beauty and emotional depth.
From its ancient roots in Sanskrit and Persian to its diffusion across various cultures and its appearances in literature and history, the name Sierah has carried a rich tapestry of meanings and associations, weaving together threads of beauty, radiance, and cultural significance.
People
Sierah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sierah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sierah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sierah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 198 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sierah 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 1,731,083 US residents.
Is Sierah a common name?
We classify Sierah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 203 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sierah most popular?
The single biggest year for Sierah was 1996, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sierah is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sierah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 192 people with the name Sierah, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,369 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 Sierah 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 Sierah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sierah appears almost entirely female. Of the 187 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 Sierah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sierah is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.8%) and Black (14.6%). 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 Sierah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sierah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.6% (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 Sierah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sierah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sierah 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 Sierah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sierah 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 Sierah 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 Sierah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.