Debra
Debra was the 4478th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 31 babies. Its best year was 1956, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1955 (50,563). Over the last ten years it has moved down 546 places. More babies were named Debra in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning variant of Deborah, 'bee' · Hebrew
Say it DEB-ruh /ˈdɛbɹə/
- Rank in 2025
- #4,478 girls, down 1,019 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 31girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 195550,563 babies
- Total since 1880
- 551,841babies recorded
What does the name Debra mean?
Debra is a 20th-century spelling variant of Deborah, as Wiktionary notes, popular in the US in the 1950s and 1960s. Deborah is the Hebrew word devorah 'bee'. In the Book of Judges, Deborah is a prophet and judge who leads Israel to victory over the Canaanite commander Sisera (Judges 4:4).
דְּבוֹרָה (Devorah) (Biblical Hebrew, “bee”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Deborah, Debbie, Debora, Devorah.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean an animal.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Debra', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Deborah', DMNES (Durham University)
- Hebrew Bible, Judges 4:4 (Sefaria, with JPS translation), Sefaria
Nicknames for Debra
The usual nicknames for Debra are Deb and Debbie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Debra in the last five years, 72 were named Debbie, against 51 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deb · also for Deborah | Traditional | — | — |
| Debbie · also for Deborah | Traditional | #5,284 | 135 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Debras go by each one.
Debra popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,146 since 1949.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,478 | 31 |
| 2020 | #3,459 | 44 |
| 2010 | #2,519 | 73 |
| 2000 | #1,211 | 164 |
| 1990 | #454 | 542 |
| 1980 | #177 | 1,558 |
| 1970 | #47 | 7,198 |
| 1960 | #8 | 26,732 |
| 1950 | #59 | 6,176 |
| 1940 | #752 | 85 |
| 1930 | #2,038 | 17 |
| 1920 | #4,058 | 7 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Debra, counting every spelling?
Debra is the most common spelling of a name family that had 31 girls in 2025 across its spellings. Together these spellings went to 31 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debra | 31 | #4,478 | 187 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Debra?
31 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Debra (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Debra born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 270 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Debra.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Debra?
About 454,000 people born in the US named Debra are alive today, with a median age of 68; half are between 63 and 71. That makes Debra a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Debra by state
How common Debra was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 46 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Debra: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Debra, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Debra · Sibling names for Debra
Questions about the name Debra
What does Debra mean?
Debra means “variant of Deborah, 'bee'” (Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Debra?
Debra was the 4478th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 31 babies. Its best year was 1956, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1955 (50,563). Over the last ten years it has moved down 546 places. More babies were named Debra in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Debra a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Debra in the US.
Where is Debra most popular?
In 2021–2025, Debra was most common in New Jersey (0.07 per 1,000 girls), followed by Indiana and New York.