Kerra
Feminine · “Dearer”
Kerra is a Cornish word meaning dearer, and it has been used as a name since the language was revived. Whether an American Kerra has anything to do with that is a different question, and the answer is almost certainly not: the record points to a respelling of a much more familiar name.
How old is the name Kerra?
Kerra first appears in US birth records in 1956 — 69 years ago. The typical Kerra alive today was born around 1995, making them about 30 years old. About 1,100 people named Kerra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kerra most popular?
Kerra peaked in 1975, reaching #2357 nationally. See the whole 1975 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Kerra
The Cornish revival is one of the more remarkable linguistic projects of the last century. The language had died as a community tongue by about eighteen hundred; enthusiasts began reconstructing it from medieval texts and place names in the nineteen-hundreds, argued fiercely about spelling for the next eighty years, and produced a written standard, a small number of fluent speakers and a first generation of children raised in it. Names are part of that, and a set of Cornish words and medieval forms have gone back into use on birth certificates. It is a much smaller undertaking than the Irish or Welsh equivalents and it has succeeded further than anybody expected.
Meaningscholars disagree
Dearer
The Cornish word is a comparative form of the adjective meaning dear, and it is in use in Cornwall as a given name among families involved in the language revival. The American name is likelier a respelling of Kara or Kerry. Both accounts are available and only one of them is documented anywhere.
Pronouncing Kerra
KER-uh
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The doubled r keeps the first vowel short, which is the one job doubled consonants reliably do in English and in Cornish spelling alike.
Nicknames for Kerra
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1956
- Most girls named
- 199744 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2357reached in 1975
- Change vs 2018
- 0.0%6 in 2019, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Kerra in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kerra in Cornish — same name
Kerras among us
people named Kerra are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Kerra sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short, soft and easy to say, with nothing silent in it.
- It has a genuine Cornish counterpart, which very few American names of its shape do.
- Every sound in it is ordinary English.
- Kara, Kerri and Kira are all commoner and will be substituted.
- The Cornish connection is real for the word and probably not for the American name.
- It is strongly dated to the middle of the last century in American records.
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Kerra
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Kerras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Kerra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kerra in 2025?
- Kerra is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kerra with classmates?
- Kerra will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kerra? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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