Head to head · Girls' names
Miranda vs Myra
#654 vs #662 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Miranda is a whisker ahead (#654 vs #662 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Miranda leads 4 measures of 6; Myra leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Miranda #825, Myra #190 — Myra higher
- 1890s: Miranda #1254, Myra #236 — Myra higher
- 1900s: Miranda #1432, Myra #283 — Myra higher
- 1910s: Miranda #2678, Myra #292 — Myra higher
- 1920s: Miranda #3293, Myra #295 — Myra higher
- 1930s: Miranda #3543, Myra #260 — Myra higher
- 1940s: Miranda #2495, Myra #230 — Myra higher
- 1950s: Miranda #1251, Myra #259 — Myra higher
- 1960s: Miranda #855, Myra #356 — Myra higher
- 1970s: Miranda #374, Myra #497 — Miranda higher
- 1980s: Miranda #128, Myra #600 — Miranda higher
- 1990s: Miranda #82, Myra #833 — Miranda higher
- 2000s: Miranda #146, Myra #989 — Miranda higher
- 2010s: Miranda #278, Myra #672 — Miranda higher
- 2020s: Miranda #587, Myra #601 — Miranda higher
Myra stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Miranda has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Miranda | Myra |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #825 | #190 |
| 1890s | #1254 | #236 |
| 1900s | #1432 | #283 |
| 1910s | #2678 | #292 |
| 1920s | #3293 | #295 |
| 1930s | #3543 | #260 |
| 1940s | #2495 | #230 |
| 1950s | #1251 | #259 |
| 1960s | #855 | #356 |
| 1970s | #374 | #497 |
| 1980s | #128 | #600 |
| 1990s | #82 | #833 |
| 2000s | #146 | #989 |
| 2010s | #278 | #672 |
| 2020s | #587 | #601 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Miranda
admirable, worthy of admiration
From Latin mirandus/miranda, the form of mirari ('to wonder at, admire') meaning 'to be admired'. The same root sits inside English words like miracle and admire.
Latin mirari (to wonder at) → Latin miranda (to be admired) → Miranda
How it traveled
The name was coined for the stage. Shakespeare built it from Latin for the daughter of Prospero in The Tempest, first performed in the early seventeenth century, and it is one of the small handful of English names whose birth certificate is a piece of literature.
Myra
Either a rearrangement of Mary, or from Greek myron, 'myrrh, sweet oil'
Two serious readings compete, and neither has won. The first treats Myra as Fulke Greville's poetic anagram of Mary — Elizabethan poets built names that way. The second connects it to Greek myron, 'myrrh' or 'perfumed oil', the same root behind the older name Myron. A third line simply points to Myra, the coastal city in what is now Turkey, whose bishop was Saint Nicholas.
How it traveled
The name was coined, not inherited: it appears as the beloved's name in Caelica, the sonnet sequence by Fulke Greville, first Baron Brooke, written in the late sixteenth century and printed after his death. Later English poets kept it in circulation as a literary name for a woman, and by the nineteenth century it had passed fully into ordinary use in Britain, Ireland and the United States.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Miranda
mih-RAN-duh
Stress on the middle syllable in English, Spanish and Italian alike. Spelled the way it sounds, which spares it the lifetime of corrections some names carry.
- Mira — Informal short form; also stands alone as a given name in several languages.
- Randa — Informal, taken from the middle of the name; occasionally used as a given name in its own right.
- Mandy — Informal; more often attached to Amanda, and most common among people born in the mid-twentieth century.
- Randi — Informal; also an independent Scandinavian given name, and spelled Randy it reads as masculine in the US.
- Also Mimi.
Myra
MY-ruh
Stress on the first syllable, rhyming with 'fire'. Some families, especially where the name sits alongside Mira and Meera, say MEE-ruh instead — worth deciding early which one you mean, as both will be offered to you.
- My — An affectionate family shortening rather than a public one; most bearers use the full name in every setting, since it is already short.
- Mimi — Used informally in some families, and also stands alone as a given name in its own right.
One short form, two names
- Miranda and Myra both shorten to Mimi.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Miranda if you want…
- a name with more sound in itMiranda runs 3 syllables, Myra 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Mira, Randa and Mandy
- a newer arrivalMiranda entered the US charts in 1881
- a name that feels very nowMiranda is stepping back from its peak
Choose Myra if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesMyra is 2 syllables to Miranda's 3
- a long American recordMyra was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 74% for Miranda
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Miranda
Strengths
- Spelled phonetically and recognized on sight in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and the Nordic languages — useful for a family that crosses languages.
- A documented origin you can point to: coined by Shakespeare for The Tempest, in unbroken use for four centuries.
- Several established short forms — Mira, Randa, Mandy — so the child has options without inventing any.
To consider
- In the United States the word Miranda also names the police warning that follows from the 1966 Supreme Court case — 'read him his Miranda rights.' Most people never connect it to a person, but the phrase is common enough that it will come up.
- Miranda is a very widespread Spanish and Portuguese surname, so check how it lands with yours; Miranda Miranda-type collisions are worth reading aloud first.
- The name is stepping back from a recent high point, which means most Mirandas around are adults rather than children. A young one will likely be the only one in her class, and will meet grown women who share it.
Myra
Strengths
- Spelled as it sounds, and short enough that it never needs shortening — no formal-versus-everyday version to manage.
- In continuous English use since the Elizabethan era, so it is familiar rather than novel, even to people who have met few Myras.
- Recognizable across several languages through its close neighbors Mira, Meera and Mayra.
To consider
- Most Myras in the United States today belong to older generations, so the name currently reads as a grandmother's rather than a classmate's — that is exactly the position names occupy shortly before they come back, but it is where it sits now.
- Mira, Meera, Mayra and Myrna are all in use, and Myra will be misheard as one of them often enough that you will spell it aloud.
- In Britain the name was badly damaged by a notorious 1960s murder case and fell sharply out of favor there. In American ears the association is faint to absent, but it is worth knowing if you have family or ties in the UK.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Miranda
74%chance Miranda feels dated by 2040
Miranda is coming down from a big peak (#57 in 1995). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Myra
40%chance Myra feels dated by 2040
Myra sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Miranda and Myra in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Miranda and Myra?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
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Where Miranda and Myra each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Miranda or Myra — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Miranda or Myra?
- Miranda, in 2025: Miranda ranked #654 with 437 babies; Myra ranked #662 with 429 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Miranda or Myra?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Miranda moved down 112 places; Myra moved down 106 places.
- Which is the older name, Miranda or Myra?
- Miranda entered the US charts in 1881; Myra was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Myra is the older name.
- How many people are named Miranda and Myra?
- About 112,000 people named Miranda are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 41,500 people named Myra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Miranda and Myra share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Mimi, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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