Fun Facts About the Name Serra
- 816 babies named Serra: U.S. records list 816 babies given the name Serra from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Serra Mean?
Serra comes from the Latin noun serra, "a saw." In the Romance languages that word took on a second, topographic sense: a saw-toothed ridge or a chain of mountains, as in Catalan and Portuguese serra and Spanish sierra. That landform meaning is the one usually attached to the name. In Italian, serra also denotes a greenhouse, a separate sense of the word that does not lie behind the name. The given name is in most cases a transferred use of the surname Serra, which is common in Italy, Catalonia, Valencia, Portugal, and Spain, and it is also used as a feminine given name in Turkey, where the derivation is not clearly established.
Serra Name History & Origins
Latin serra, "saw," is the source of a family of words across the western Mediterranean used for the jagged profile of hills and mountains. Catalan and Portuguese serra, Spanish sierra, and Italian serra all carry that sense, and the Catalan monastery and mountain of Montserrat are named from the same image of a mountain that is "serrated," or saw-toothed.
As a family name, Serra belongs to the western Mediterranean. It is found widely in Italy, especially in Liguria, Piedmont, and Sardinia, and also in Catalonia, Valencia, Portugal, and Brazil, where it generally began as a topographic surname for someone who lived by a ridge or a saw-toothed hill. The best-known bearer is the Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra (1713 - 1784), born on Mallorca and later associated with the founding of the California mission chain; Serra was his surname, not a given name.
The given name Serra developed largely from that surname rather than from a saint's name or a literary work, so its history is bound up with the word for the landform and with the families that carried it. Turkish use of Serra as a feminine name appears to be an independent development, though its exact origin is uncertain.
How Popular is the Name Serra?
Serra has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1996. Its best rank was #3,491 in 1996.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,997 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #13,203 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #10,189 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #13,360 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2021 | #10,188 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2020 | #10,147 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #6,658 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2018 | #8,094 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #6,251 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2016 | #6,865 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2015 | #7,219 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2014 | #9,449 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2013 | #7,326 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2012 | #6,829 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2011 | #7,368 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2010 | #7,826 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2009 | #10,557 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2008 | #8,051 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2007 | #5,502 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2006 | #5,674 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2005 | #5,755 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2004 | #5,933 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2003 | #7,520 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #4,263 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2001 | #4,979 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2000 | #4,764 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1999 | #5,179 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1998 | #4,608 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 1997 | #4,489 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 1996 | #3,491 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 1995 | #3,760 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1994 | #6,591 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1993 | #4,784 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1992 | #5,427 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1991 | #4,618 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1990 | #6,785 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1989 | #4,338 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1988 | #5,020 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1987 | #6,250 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1986 | #7,615 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #8,153 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #8,937 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #5,747 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1982 | #9,004 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #4,690 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1980 | #5,480 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1979 | #8,797 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #6,812 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1977 | #6,762 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1976 | #7,130 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1967 | #7,638 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Serra Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are spiritually intense and can sting or charm. Your name brings love and new starts into life and attracts money. In business, you are the creator and promoter of original ideas and usually enjoy considerable financial success. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Serra's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Serra's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.