Shaira
Feminine · “a poetess”
Shaira means a poet, and specifically a woman poet. Arabic sha'ir is one who composes verse, and its feminine sha'ira has been an honorable word in Arabic and Urdu literary culture for a very long time. The name is used across South Asia and the Philippines, and its American record peaks in 2017.
How old is the name Shaira?
Shaira first appears in US birth records in 1979 — 46 years ago. The typical Shaira alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 600 people named Shaira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shaira most popular?
Shaira peaked in 2017, reaching #3996 nationally. Today it ranks #6116, 2,120 places below that high. See the whole 2017 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From sh-'-r to Shaira
The story of Shaira
Poetry occupies a position in Arabic and Urdu culture that has no exact English equivalent: the pre-Islamic odes were the highest achievement of the language, and the mushaira, a public gathering for the recitation of Urdu verse, is still a living institution in Pakistan and northern India. A name meaning poet carries all of that. Shaira is used in Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh and among Muslim communities in the Philippines, where Arabic names are common. American records show it in small numbers, rising with South Asian and Filipino migration.
Meaning
a poetess; one who composes verse
From the Arabic root sh-'-r, which carries the sense of perceiving or feeling, and from which comes shi'r, poetry, and sha'ir, a poet — literally one who perceives. The feminine sha'ira is the ordinary word for a woman poet in Arabic and Urdu. Given the standing of poetry in Arabic and Persianate culture, this is a name of real weight rather than an ornamental one. The derivation is settled.
How the name formed
- sh-'-r
- sha'ira
- Shaira
Related forms: Shaira · Shaira · Shaira
Pronouncing Shaira
SHY-rah
Two syllables in the usual English-language saying, with the first rhyming with sky. The Arabic original has a break between the vowels, sha-EE-ra, giving three syllables. Both are heard on American bearers.
Nicknames for Shaira
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
- 1979
- Most girls named
- 201737 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3996reached in 2017
- Change vs 2024
- +11.8%19 in 2025, from 17
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.
Shaira in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Shaira in Arabic — same name
- Shaira in Urdu — same name
- Shaira in Filipino — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Shairas among us
people named Shaira are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 84,593 born in 2025 was named Shaira
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 Karlin test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Shaira's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Karlin climbed just as high around 1946, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Karlin's path sketches the road Shaira is walking now.
Shaira 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
Shaira beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Shaira in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is a genuine profession of real cultural standing, expressible in one word.
- It is short and made only of sounds English already has.
- The spelling is stable across Arabic, Urdu and Filipino usage.
- Two- and three-syllable pronunciations both circulate.
- It is close to Shayla, Saira and Shakira and will be misheard.
- It is rare in the United States and will be spelled out routinely.
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What they receive
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Shaira
Feminine · #6116 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Shairas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Shaira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shaira in 2025?
- Shaira ranks #6116 among US girl names in 2025, with 19 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Shaira?
- About 1 in every 84,593 US girls born in 2025 was named Shaira — 19 in all.
- Will my child share the name Shaira with classmates?
- Shaira will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Shaira
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Alvina#6116 · Mena#6116 · Harvey#6116 · Kellie#6116 · Alden#6116 · Jeanna#6116 · Sammi#6116 · Mamie#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shaira? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shaira and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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