Moira
Feminine · “fate”
Moira is the Irish Máire, which is Mary — and it is also the Greek word for fate, the portion allotted to you.
How old is the name Moira?
Moira first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Moira alive today was born around 1993, making them about 32 years old. About 7,300 people named Moira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Moira most popular?
Moira peaked in 1965, reaching #832 nationally. Today it ranks #2036, 1,204 places below that high. See the whole 1965 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Máire to Moira
The story of Moira
The Moirai were the three Fates who spun, measured and cut the thread of every life, and their name means the portion allotted — fate as a share rather than a plan. Separately, Máire is the ordinary Irish form of Mary, anglicized as Moira. Both routes brought it to America, where it is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
fate, allotted portion; and Mary
Two separate names. The Irish Máire, an anglicization, descends from Mary, whose Hebrew Miriam is unrecovered. The Greek moira means 'share' or 'fate' and named the three Fates. Both are genuine and the coincidence of sound is exactly that.
How the name formed
- Máire
- Moira
Related forms: Máire · Μοίρα · Maura
Pronouncing Moira
MOY-ruh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Irish Máire is MAW-ruh, quite different.
Nicknames for Moira
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
- 1913
- Most girls named
- 1964143 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #832reached in 1965
- Change vs 2023
- −18.4%93 in 2025, from 114
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.
Moira in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Máire in Irish — related form
- Μοίρα in Greek — transliteration
- Maura in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Pennsylvania.
Moiras among us
people named Moira are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 17,282 born in 2025 was named Moira
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Maurice test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Moira's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Maurice climbed just as high around 1915, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Maurice's path sketches the road Moira is walking now.
Moira 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 Moira is headed
Moira 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.
Moira beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Moira in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the Greek for fate means an allotted share is a first-rate idea.
- The Irish route ties it to one of the most-used names in history.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- The two origins are entirely unrelated.
- Maura and Moira are close enough to confuse.
- Mary's own meaning is genuinely unrecovered.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Moira to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Moira
Feminine · #2036 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Moiras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 7,300 people named Moira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Moira in 2025?
- Moira ranks #2036 among US girl names in 2025, with 93 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Moira?
- About 1 in every 17,282 US girls born in 2025 was named Moira — 93 in all.
- Will my child share the name Moira with classmates?
- Moira will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Moira
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jude#2036 · Alyanna#2036 · Aysel#2036 · Jaycie#2036 · Swayze#2036 · Mayzie#2036 · Marion#2036 · Tania#2036
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Moira? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Moira 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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