Taira
Of Japanese origin, meaning "prosperous" or "abundant field".
Name Census estimates that about 974 living Americans carry the first name Taira. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Taira today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Taira births was 1990 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Taira. 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 Taira with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
974
~ 1 in 351,904 Americans
Peak year
1990
46 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,972
Tracked since 1965
Census
Taira in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,012 people with the first name Taira, which placed it at #12,335 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
#12,335
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,012 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
35.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Taira
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taira is White at 35.4%. The next largest groups are Black (33.1%) and Hispanic (15.4%). 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 Taira 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 Taira at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White35.4% · 358
- Black or African American33.1% · 335
- Hispanic or Latino15.4% · 156
- Two or more races7.6% · 77
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.5% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 10
Popularity
Taira: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Taira from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 328 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Taira 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 Taira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tairas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Taira, while Pennsylvania, Michigan, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Taira
The name Taira has its origins in Japanese culture and dates back to the Heian period (794-1185 AD). It is believed to be derived from the Old Japanese word "tai," which means "thick" or "substantial," and the suffix "-ra," which was commonly used to form surnames or clan names.
Taira was the name of a powerful samurai clan that rose to prominence during the late Heian period. The most famous member of this clan was Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181), who served as the de facto ruler of Japan for several years and played a significant role in the Gempei War against the Minamoto clan.
Another notable historical figure with the name Taira was Taira no Munemori (1147-1185), the son of Kiyomori and a skilled military commander. He led the Taira forces in the Gempei War but was eventually defeated by the Minamoto clan at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185.
Taira no Yasuyori (1155-1186) was another member of the Taira clan who fought in the Gempei War. He was known for his bravery and loyalty to his clan, and he died in battle defending the Taira cause.
Outside of Japan, the name Taira has been used by individuals of Japanese descent, such as Taira Hikozo (1902-1986), a Japanese-American artist and sculptor who was active in the early 20th century.
Taira Sigesuke (1935-2019) was a Japanese politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan from 1986 to 1988.
While the name Taira has its roots in ancient Japanese history, it has been used by individuals from various backgrounds and time periods, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and historical significance of this name.
People
Taira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Taira as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Taira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Taira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 974 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Taira 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 351,904 US residents.
Is Taira a common name?
We classify Taira as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,022 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Taira most popular?
The single biggest year for Taira was 1990, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Taira is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Taira in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,012 people with the name Taira, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,335 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 Taira 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 Taira?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Taira leans strongly female. 969 people counted with this name were female (95.4%), compared with 47 male bearers (4.6%). 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 Taira?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taira is White at 35.4%. The next largest groups are Black (33.1%) and Hispanic (15.4%). 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 Taira most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Taira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.4% (358 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 Taira in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Taira a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Taira 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 Taira still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Taira 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 Taira 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 Taira as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Taira on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.