Yanira
Feminine
Yanira is a Latin American name with a Greek shadow behind it. Ianeira is a sea nymph in Hesiod's list of the daughters of Ocean, and the name is built from the Greek for a man or a person; whether the Spanish name descends from her or was made independently is not documented.
How old is the name Yanira?
Yanira first appears in US birth records in 1964 — 61 years ago. The typical Yanira alive today was born around 1994, making them about 31 years old. About 3,200 people named Yanira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Yanira most popular?
Yanira peaked in 1989, reaching #1339 nationally. Today it ranks #5099, 3,760 places below that high. See the whole 1989 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Yanira
Hesiod lists forty-one Oceanids by name, and most of them are never mentioned again anywhere; Ianeira is one. The name reappears in Spanish-speaking countries in the twentieth century, which is a long silence to bridge, and the Ya- opening it shares with a whole set of Caribbean and Central American names suggests it may have been made rather than inherited. It has been widely given in El Salvador, Honduras, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
The Greek Ianeira appears in Hesiod among the Oceanids and is generally read as containing aner, a man, with a feminine ending. Whether the modern Yanira descends from it cannot be shown; the name behaves in Spanish records like a member of the Ya- naming family that produced Yaritza and Yamileth. Both accounts are held.
Pronouncing Yanira
yah-NEE-rah
Three syllables, stress in the middle, all vowels open. English speakers manage it with very little adjustment.
Nicknames for Yanira
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
- 1964
- Most girls named
- 1993123 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1339reached in 1989
- Change vs 2024
- +4.2%25 in 2025, from 24
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.
Yanira in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ἰάνειρα in Greek — related form
- Janira in Spanish — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Yaniras among us
people named Yanira are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 64,291 born in 2025 was named Yanira
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 Stacee test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Yanira's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Stacee climbed just as high around 1973, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Stacee's path sketches the road Yanira is walking now.
Yanira 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 Yanira is headed
Yanira should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Yanira beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Yanira in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Yani and Nira are ready short forms and both are names elsewhere.
- Three open syllables make it easy in Spanish and English alike.
- It is immediately recognized in Central American and Caribbean communities.
- Yanira, Janira and Yaneira are all in use, so the spelling will be asked for.
- Its Greek connection is possible rather than established, so it should not be claimed flatly.
- English readers may say the Y as a J, which is not the sound.
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What they receive
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Yanira
Feminine · #5099 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Yaniras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,200 people named Yanira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Yanira in 2025?
- Yanira ranks #5099 among US girl names in 2025, with 25 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Yanira?
- About 1 in every 64,291 US girls born in 2025 was named Yanira — 25 in all.
- Will my child share the name Yanira with classmates?
- Yanira will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Yanira
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Janette#5099 · Loraine#5099 · Delfina#5099 · Hali#5099 · Mecca#5099 · Zoi#5099 · Afia#5099 · Emelie#5099
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Yanira? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Yanira and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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