Shira
Feminine · “song”
Shira is a song in Hebrew — and the Song of the Sea, sung after the crossing, is called Shirat HaYam.
How old is the name Shira?
Shira first appears in US birth records in 1941 — 84 years ago. The typical Shira alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 5,700 people named Shira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shira most popular?
Shira peaked in 1985, reaching #976 nationally. Today it ranks #2298, 1,322 places below that high. See the whole 1985 chart.
Where it comes from
From shir to Shira
The story of Shira
The Song of the Sea is written in Torah scrolls in a distinctive brick-like layout unlike any surrounding text, and linguists consider it among the oldest Hebrew poetry preserved. Shira is a standard modern Israeli name and appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
song, poetry
From the Hebrew shirah, 'song' or 'poem', from shir, 'to sing'. Shirat HaYam is the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15, among the oldest passages in the Hebrew Bible. The word is ordinary Hebrew and the reading undisputed.
How the name formed
- shir
- shirah
- Shira
Related forms: שירה · Shirah
Pronouncing Shira
SHEE-rah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Hebrew stresses the second, shi-RAH.
Nicknames for Shira
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
- 1941
- Most girls named
- 2009159 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #976reached in 1985
- Change vs 2023
- +27.4%79 in 2025, from 62
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.
Shira in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- שירה in Hebrew — transliteration
- Shirah in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, New Jersey.
Shiras among us
people named Shira are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 20,345 born in 2025 was named Shira
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 Lyndia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Shira's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lyndia climbed just as high around 1948, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lyndia's path sketches the road Shira is walking now.
Shira 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 Shira is headed
Shira 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.
Shira beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Shira in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the Song of the Sea is laid out like brickwork in the scroll is a first-rate fact.
- The song meaning is transparent and beautiful.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- Hebrew and English stress it differently.
- Shira and Sheera are both in circulation.
- It reads as specifically Israeli.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Shira
Feminine · #2298 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Shiras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,700 people named Shira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shira in 2025?
- Shira ranks #2298 among US girl names in 2025, with 79 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Shira?
- About 1 in every 20,345 US girls born in 2025 was named Shira — 79 in all.
- Will my child share the name Shira with classmates?
- Shira will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Shira
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jahzara#2298 · Khelani#2298 · Therese#2298 · Jennie#2298 · Shyla#2298 · Skylah#2298 · Emelyn#2298 · Layna#2298
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shira? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shira 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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