girl's name
Keira
KEER-uh
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 57,864
the United States
#621
2025 births
Keira rose twice, two years apart, and both markets moved together — American births went 433 in 2003 to 1,244 in 2004, then on to 3,022 by 2006, with England and Wales tracing the same two steps in the same years.
- Keira is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2006, when 3,022 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 7,069 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1962.
Keira over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 99 |
| 1970s | 359 |
| 1980s | 637 |
| 1990s | 1,390 |
| 2000s | 14,527 |
| 2010s | 13,440 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,391 |
What Keira means
Keira means little dark one, or black-haired. The Irish ciar means dark, usually of hair, and the diminutive makes it an affectionate byname rather than a description of character.
Where Keira comes from
Keira is a respelling of Ciara, the feminine of Ciarán, built on the Irish ciar — dark or black. The same ciar gives Kieran and the county name Kerry, the land of the people of Ciar. Its modern spread is not Irish in origin but follows the actress Keira Knightley, and our data shows the shape of that clearly enough to describe without guessing at it.
Keira in use
Keira peaked in the United States in 2006, when 3,022 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. The curve has two distinct lifts rather than one: 216 births in 2001, 238 in 2002, 433 in 2003, then 1,244 in 2004 — nearly a tripling — and after a pause at 1,468 a second climb to the 3,022 peak. England and Wales runs the same shape in the same years, 368 in 2003 to 1,164 in 2004 and on to 1,622 in 2006. Two markets moving in step is stronger evidence than either alone. It now ranks 245th in Scotland on 15 births, 388th in England and Wales on 109, 621st in the United States on 469, 752nd in Ireland on 4 and 2544th in France on 20, across 57,864 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Keira?
In 2025, Keira was given to 469 babies in the United States, ranking #621 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Keira is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Keira is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Keïra | Keïra is a rare spelling of Keira, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 65 times, mostly in France. | 65 |
Names that peaked alongside Keira
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Keira also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Keira over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Keira in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Irish
- Ciara
Sibling names for Keira
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Keira — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Keira
What does the name Keira mean?
Little dark one — the Irish ciar, dark, usually of hair.
Why did Keira rise so fast?
Our data shows two lifts, in 2004 and 2006, matched in the same years in England and Wales.
Is Keira the same as Ciara?
Yes — a respelling of the same Irish name.
Is Kerry related?
Yes — Kerry is the land of the people of Ciar, from the same word.
How popular is the name Keira?
In 2025, Keira was given to 469 babies in the United States, ranking #621 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Keira a girl's or a boy's name?
Keira is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Keira most popular?
Keira peaked in 2006, when 3,022 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Keira a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Keira currently ranks #245 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.