Kira
Feminine · “Either "lord”
Kira is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 40,829 girls against 27 boys since 1880.
Two syllables, five letters, and almost no way to get it wrong once you have heard it said. Kira arrives in English from more than one direction — a Russian name with a Persian king behind it, and an Irish name reshaped by English spelling — and it has held a quiet, continuous place in American records for generations without ever crowding a classroom.
How old is the name Kira?
Kira first appears in US birth records in 1938 — 87 years ago. The typical Kira alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 40,000 people named Kira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kira most popular?
Kira peaked in 2005, reaching #241 nationally. Today it ranks #385, 144 places below that high. See the whole 2005 chart.
Where it comes from
From Kyros to Kira
The story of Kira
The oldest thread runs through Greek Kyros, the form in which the Greeks wrote the name of the Persian king Cyrus; Russian took it up as Kir, and made Kira its feminine. That Russian Kira traveled west with emigration in the twentieth century and was easy for English speakers to say on sight. The second thread is Irish: Ciara, from ciar, "dark," which English spelling has reworked as Kiera, Keira and Kira. The two arrived at the same five letters independently, which is why you will find Kiras whose families trace the name to Moscow and Kiras whose families trace it to Cork.
Meaningscholars disagree
Either "lord, ruler" or "dark-haired" — the two lines behind the name give different answers
As the Russian name Кира, it is the feminine of Kir, which descends from Greek Kyros — the name of Cyrus the Great of Persia — usually read as "lord" or "master." As an English respelling of Irish Ciara, it goes back to Old Irish ciar, "dark, black," describing dark hair or coloring. Most American Kiras sit somewhere between the two, and both readings are legitimate.
How the name formed
- Kyros
- Kir
- Kira
Related forms: Кира · Keira · Kyra · Ciara · Kyra · Cira
Pronouncing Kira
KEER-ah
KEER-ah is the usual American pronunciation. A minority say KY-rah, following the spelling Kyra, so it is worth deciding which you mean and saying it first at introductions.
Nicknames for Kira
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1938
- Most girls named
- 20051,391 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #241reached in 2005
- Change vs 2023
- +11.1%801 in 2025, from 721
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Kira in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Кира in Russian — transliteration
- Keira in English — spelling variant
- Kyra in English — spelling variant
- Ciara in Irish — related form
- Kyra in Greek — related form
- Cira in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Kiras among us
people named Kira are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 2,007 born in 2025 was named Kira
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kira
- #385
- Kira on the 2025 chart
- #262
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kira went to 801 girls in 2025, but Kyra, Kyrah and Kirra and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 7 spellings went to 1,240, which makes it the 262nd most-given girls’ name of the year — 123 places above the chart.
and 1 rarer spelling.
About 1 girl in 1,296 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 2,007 for Kira itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Laurel test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kira's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Laurel climbed just as high around 1956, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Laurel's path sketches the road Kira is walking now.
Kira 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Kira is headed
Kira should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Kira beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kira in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short, phonetic and readable on sight for English speakers — no silent letters and no ambiguity about syllable count.
- Belongs to Russian, Irish and Greek naming traditions at once, so it lands as a real name in a wide range of families.
- Has been on American records continuously for generations without a boom-and-bust curve behind it.
- Complete as it stands — it needs no nickname, but takes Ki and Kiki easily if one is wanted.
- The spelling competes with Keira, Kyra, Kiera and Ciara, all in genuine use. Expect to spell it aloud fairly often, and expect the occasional KY-rah from someone reading it cold.
- Among younger viewers, Kira is widely recognized as the alias of the central figure in the anime Death Note. It is a passing association rather than a permanent one, but it is real and worth knowing about.
- It is familiar enough that nobody will ask what it means, and uncommon enough that a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate — a middle position that suits some families and feels too quiet to others.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kira to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kira
Feminine · #385 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kiras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 40,000 people named Kira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kira?
- Kira is the most-used spelling in US records — 801 of the 1,240 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Kyra, Kyrah, Kirra, Kirah and Khyra.
- How popular is the name Kira in 2025?
- Kira ranks #385 among US girl names in 2025, with 801 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kira?
- About 1 in every 2,007 US girls born in 2025 was named Kira — 801 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kira with classmates?
- Kira will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kira
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Liana#385 · Blaire#384 · Kalani#387 · Londyn#388 · Nicole#382 · Giselle#382 · Carmen#389 · Sunny#389
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kira? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kira and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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