How popular is the baby name Deidra in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Deidra.

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Popularity of the baby name Deidra


Posts that mention the name Deidra

How do you feel about your name, Sidra?

It’s another name interview! This one is with Sidra (pronounced see-druh), a 37-year-old from New York City.

What’s the story behind her name?

My mother named me. She told me she found my name in a baby name book. She had never heard of it before and liked the meaning of it, “star” (in Latin).

What does she like most about her name?

I like that my name is rare. In my school days there was never another ‘Sidra’ in my class. I like that I’m usually the first ‘Sidra’ someone has met and get many compliments on my name. A cool fact is that my name spelled backwards is another female first name: ‘Ardis’!

What does she like least about her name?

I dislike that people rarely pronounce it correctly (well the version of how it’s supposed to be pronounced for me). Most people see the S-i-d first and assume it’s pronounced as the name ‘Sid’ and call me Sid-druh (which is a pronunciation variation for some with my name). And I’m not fond of that pronunciation at all. Another thing I don’t like about my name is it’s often misspelled because of how it’s pronounced; some people think it’s spelled with a ‘C’. And if I’m talking to someone over the phone or in person, if I say my name for the first time, people often think I’ve said my name is ‘Didra/Deidra’ or ‘Tedra’’ because I guess those are more common. Or if not those names, it gets butchered completely and doesn’t sound like my name at all. I’ve sometimes had to joke that my name is ‘Didra’ but with an ‘S’ or it’s just like the Pokémon (Seadra) to make the pronunciation clearer for some.

Finally, would Sidra recommend that her name be given to babies today?

I’m in the middle. I would recommend that ‘Sidra’ be given to baby girls today because it’s different. But it would be weird if it ever became a popular first name. I lean also towards not recommending it be given to baby girls today because then it wouldn’t be as “special” if it were common. I like that there are not too many other women with the name ‘Sidra’ out there.

Thank you, Sidra!

P.S. Here’s a post about Ardis (“Sidra” backwards), and here’s a long list of similar name anagrams.

What gave the baby name Deirdre a boost in the 1940s?

The character Deirdre Drake (played by Dolores Moran) from the movie "Old Acquaintance" (1943).
Deirdre Drake from “Old Acquaintance

The name Deatra appeared on the Social Security Administration’s baby name list for the first time in 1944:

  • 1946: 12 baby girls named Deatra
  • 1945: 19 baby girls named Deatra
  • 1944: 29 baby girls named Deatra [debut]
  • 1943: unlisted
  • 1942: unlisted

It was a top debut name that year, in fact.

“Deatra” confused me at first. I couldn’t figure out where it came from. Then I discovered a whole bunch of similar names that also debuted in 1944…

1943194419451946
Deatra.29*1912
Dietra.25*1617
Deitra.23*1616
Detra.20*611
Diedra.19*2716
Dedra.18*1619
Deadra.15*1212
Deedra.11*149
Deirdra.11*78
Diedre.11*1422
Deardra.10*66
Dierdra.5*55
Dieatra.5*..
Deetra.5*..
*Debut

(Dieatra was a one-hit wonder.)

All these names together these pointed me to Deirdre as the likely source.

So what happened to the Irish name Deirdre that year?

  • 1946: 121 baby girls named Deirdre (rank: 742nd)
  • 1945: 78 baby girls named Deirdre (rank: 852nd)
  • 1944: 67 baby girls named Deirdre (rank: 948th)
  • 1943: 29 baby girls named Deirdre
  • 1942: 37 baby girls named Deirdre

From 1943 to 1944, usage more than doubled, pushing Deirdre into the top 1,000 for the very first time.

Other variants (e.g. Dierdre, Deidra) also saw increased usage in 1944. One of them, Deidre, even achieved top-1,000 status in 1945.

So what caused the great Deirdre-spike of 1944?

I think it was the Bette Davis film Old Acquaintance, which was released in November of 1943. It featured a character named Deirdre Drake (played by actress Dolores Moran).

I’m not 100% sure the movie was the cause, but the name of Bette Davis’s character, Kit — short for Katherine — also saw an increase in usage in 1944:

  • 1946: 24 baby girls named Kit
  • 1945: 27 baby girls named Kit
  • 1944: 25 baby girls named Kit
  • 1943: 14 baby girls named Kit
  • 1942: 12 baby girls named Kit

So I think Old Acquaintance is a decent guess.

Do you have any other ideas?