Debra

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Debra: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Debra: Recorded since 1953, it reached #6 in 1958, and it stood at #5,891 in 2024.

4registrars recorded it
87times a registrar ranked it
72years from first to last
#6highest recorded position
23groupings it qualifies for
6names it appears alongside

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1364
1997	#1543
1998	#1392
1999	#2189
2000	#3247
2001	#2226
2002	#4137
2003	#3099
2006	#4157
2008	#5545
2010	#4688
2014	#4684
2020	#5493
2022	#5669
2024	#5891

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 33 of the 41 years from 1964 to 2004.

In 2002: #620 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #4137 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1953–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1953
First recorded at #75 among girls in New South Wales, Australia in 1953 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New South Wales, Australia · Girls
Highest recorded1953–1973
Highest recorded position: #6 among girls in New South Wales, Australia, in 1958 (recorded 1953–1973).
New South Wales, Australia · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #5891 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Debra appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, with 33 ranked years and 280 births registered; the earliest is New South Wales, Australia · Girls, from 1953.

Debra across 4 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Debra's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#274 (1964)	#230 (1970)	#677 (2004)	33 of 41	280 (1964–2004)	18 (1985)
England and Wales · Girls	#1364 (1996)	#1364 (1996)	#5891 (2024)	15 of 29	87 (1996–2024)	13 (1996)
New South Wales, Australia · Girls	#75 (1953)	#6 (1958)	#99 (1973)	20 of 21	6,524 (1953–1973)	794 (1958)
New Zealand · Girls	#90 (1955)	#17 (1959)	#97 (1973)	19 of 19	3,094 (1955–1973)	341 (1959)

Debra by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Debra in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	45	6 of 10	8
1970sbusiest	106	10 of 10	11
1980s	91	9 of 10	10
1990s	32	6 of 10	5
2000s	6	2 of 10	3

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 11 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Debra appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1953 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #6 in New South Wales, Australia in 1958.

Debra's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#5891	3	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#5669	3	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#5493	3	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#4684	4	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#4688	4	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#5545	3	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#4157	4	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#3099	5	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#4137	3	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#2226	7	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#3247	4	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#2189	7	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#1392	13	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1543	11	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#1364	13	High	Verified
1973	New South Wales, Australia	female	#99	79	Insufficient	Not yet available
1972	New South Wales, Australia	female	#83	112	Insufficient	Not yet available
1970	New South Wales, Australia	female	#81	114	Insufficient	Not yet available
1969	New South Wales, Australia	female	#63	155	Insufficient	Not yet available
1968	New South Wales, Australia	female	#57	166	Insufficient	Not yet available
1967	New South Wales, Australia	female	#43	198	Insufficient	Not yet available
1966	New South Wales, Australia	female	#47	181	Insufficient	Not yet available
1965	New South Wales, Australia	female	#34	254	Insufficient	Not yet available
1964	New South Wales, Australia	female	#35	267	Insufficient	Not yet available
1963	New South Wales, Australia	female	#34	287	Insufficient	Not yet available
1962	New South Wales, Australia	female	#23	397	Insufficient	Not yet available
1961	New South Wales, Australia	female	#18	512	Insufficient	Not yet available
1960	New South Wales, Australia	female	#7	635	Insufficient	Not yet available
1959	New South Wales, Australia	female	#7	659	Insufficient	Not yet available
1958	New South Wales, Australia	female	#6	794	Insufficient	Not yet available
1957	New South Wales, Australia	female	#9	685	Insufficient	Not yet available
1956	New South Wales, Australia	female	#19	431	Insufficient	Not yet available
1955	New South Wales, Australia	female	#30	315	Insufficient	Not yet available
1954	New South Wales, Australia	female	#54	173	Insufficient	Not yet available
1953	New South Wales, Australia	female	#75	110	Insufficient	Not yet available
1973	New Zealand	female	#97	65	High	Verified
1972	New Zealand	female	#78	79	High	Verified
1971	New Zealand	female	#82	84	High	Verified
1970	New Zealand	female	#89	77	High	Verified
1969	New Zealand	female	#63	105	High	Verified
1968	New Zealand	female	#66	103	High	Verified
1967	New Zealand	female	#57	122	High	Verified
1966	New Zealand	female	#53	125	High	Verified
1965	New Zealand	female	#44	159	High	Verified
1964	New Zealand	female	#41	179	High	Verified
1963	New Zealand	female	#26	242	High	Verified
1962	New Zealand	female	#22	264	High	Verified
1961	New Zealand	female	#25	270	High	Verified
1960	New Zealand	female	#20	306	High	Verified
1959	New Zealand	female	#17	341	High	Verified
1958	New Zealand	female	#22	269	High	Verified
1957	New Zealand	female	#45	149	High	Verified
1956	New Zealand	female	#70	88	High	Verified
1955	New Zealand	female	#90	67	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#677	3	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#620	3	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#576	3	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#411	5	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#340	8	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#417	5	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#515	3	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#336	8	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#344	8	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#296	11	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#422	5	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#233	18	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#343	8	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#313	10	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#312	11	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#272	14	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#401	6	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#363	7	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#291	12	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#269	13	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#298	10	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#297	10	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#340	7	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#271	13	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#276	11	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#277	10	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#230	13	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#265	10	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#250	10	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#246	9	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#310	5	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#297	5	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#274	6	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New South Wales, Australia hub — collected by NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
New Zealand hub — collected by NZ Department of Internal Affairs
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1953 and 2024, ranked in 57 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #6, first reached in 1958.

It held a top-100 place in 21 years, 21 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 794 births, registered in New South Wales, Australia in 1958.

1 registrar ranked it inside their own top 10.

Its record falls into 10 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 5 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1955, and 43 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Deborah · #3, 74y
Deborrah · #195, 10y
Declan · #12, 62y
Deegan · #698, 19y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Cian · #6, 60y
Lynette · #6, 54y
Tadhg · #6, 59y
Oisin · #7, 61y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Belinda · #6, 65y
Ben · #6, 72y
Craig · #6, 72y
Elaine · #6, 69y

Comparisons involving Debra

Existing comparison pages where Debra and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Closest long-running positions

Names that stayed close to Debra within one registrar's list over many years. A gap measured inside that list, never across registrars.

Debra vs Vicki
Across 20 shared years in New South Wales, Australia · Girls, Debra and Vicki averaged 11.8 places apart, ending at #99 and #74.
Debra · Vicki · 20 shared years, 1953–1973 · Closest over the longest run
See the 1973 New South Wales, Australia ranking
Margaret vs Debra
Across 20 shared years in New South Wales, Australia · Girls, Margaret and Debra averaged 13.4 places apart, ending at #81 and #99.
Margaret · Debra · 20 shared years, 1953–1973 · Closest over the longest run
See the 1973 New South Wales, Australia ranking

Order changes

Pairs where Debra and another name exchanged position in a published list, taken as the final meaningful change.

Donna vs Debra
In 1961, Donna moved ahead of Debra in New South Wales, Australia · Girls — #12 and #7 the year before became #6 and #18.
Donna · Debra · 20 shared years, 1953–1973 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1961 New South Wales, Australia ranking
Debra vs Gail
In New Zealand · Girls, Debra moved into the top 50 at #22 in 1958 as Gail fell out of it to #52, having been #39 the year before.
Debra · Gail · 10 shared years, 1955–1966 · One took the other's place near the top
See the 1958 New Zealand ranking

Compared inside New South Wales, Australia lists

Pairs involving Debra measured in New South Wales, Australia's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Debra at its highest position.

Jennifer vs Debra
Both reached their highest recorded position in New South Wales, Australia · Girls within 2 years — Jennifer #1 in 1956, Debra #6 in 1958.
Jennifer · Debra · 20 shared years, 1953–1973 · Peaked in the same years
See the 1958 New South Wales, Australia ranking

New South Wales, Australia overview→

Debra was ranked #6 in New South Wales, Australia · Girls in 1958. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Debra and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Debra without appearing here.

Debra moved ahead of

Helene Compare
In 2013 they stood at #4688 and #2843 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #4684 and #5691.
Jude Compare
In 1976 they stood at #340 and #340 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1977 that had become #269 and #468.
Violet Compare
In 1974 they stood at #340 and #324 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1975 that had become #297 and #406.
Camilla Compare
In 1991 they stood at #515 and #515 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1992 that had become #417 and #523.

Moved ahead of Debra

Amalie Compare
In 2001 they stood at #2226 and #3998 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #4137 and #938.
Ezra Compare
In 2013 they stood at #4688 and #5707 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #4684 and #1628.
Francis Compare
In 2019 they stood at #4157 and #5061 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #5493 and #2449.
Diane Compare
In 2001 they stood at #2226 and #2466 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #4137 and #1530.

Moved the opposite way to Debra

Aisling Compare
Between 1964 and 2004 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Debra went from #274 to #677 while Aisling went from #154 to #29.
Alexandra Compare
Between 1964 and 2004 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Debra went from #274 to #677 while Alexandra went from #222 to #68.
Charlotte Compare
Between 1964 and 2004 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Debra went from #274 to #677 while Charlotte went from #171 to #76.
Ciara Compare
Between 1964 and 2004 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Debra went from #274 to #677 while Ciara went from #146 to #6.

Moved the same way as Debra

Annie Compare
Between 1964 and 2004 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Debra went from #274 to #677 and Annie from #112 to #160.
Deirdre Compare
Between 1964 and 2004 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Debra went from #274 to #677 and Deirdre from #14 to #340.
Diane Compare
Between 1964 and 2004 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Debra went from #274 to #677 and Diane from #215 to #576.
Eileen Compare
Between 1964 and 2004 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Debra went from #274 to #677 and Eileen from #17 to #340.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1953 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #6 in New South Wales, Australia in 1958. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Debra

Debra at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Debra across 4 official records

Debra by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Debra appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Comparisons involving Debra

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside New South Wales, Australia lists

Names published alongside Debra

Debra and the names beside it

Debra moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Debra

Moved the opposite way to Debra

Moved the same way as Debra

Debra at a glance

Debra across 4 official records

Debra by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Debra appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Comparisons involving Debra

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside New South Wales, Australia lists

Names published alongside Debra

Debra and the names beside it

Debra moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Debra

Moved the opposite way to Debra

Moved the same way as Debra