Keira

What Keira means

Means “black, dark, little dark one”

A modern feminine form of Kieran, from Irish ciar (“black, dark, little dark one”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Keira” (revision 89361687), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Keira?

US: Falling: down from #245 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #159 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2006, when 3,022 girls got the name (#110 that year). First in the US records in 1962.

How common

• About 1 in 3,427 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,324 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,193 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in MA (1.21 per 1,000 girls), OR (0.84 per 1,000 girls), CA (0.59 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Keira is #621 in the US and #388 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Keira were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Kira801 US · 89 E&W
• Kora603 US · 23 E&W
• Kyra329 US · 88 E&W
• Kara226 US · 31 E&W
• Kairi239 US · 9 E&W
• Kaira152 US · 82 E&W
• Korra153 US · 9 E&W
• Keiry69 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Keira

Girls

• Ava#11Editor’s note Down from #4 in 2015 to #11 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 210 US girls in the 2025 records
• Brynn#407Editor’s note Down from #259 in 2015 to #407 in 2025 in the US
• Alayna#332Editor’s note Down from #223 in 2015 to #332 in 2025 in the US
• Allie#569Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #255 in 2015, #569 in 2025
• Alaina#224Form of Elon, meaning “oak tree”^*
• Teagan#340Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1979, with 6 babies

For a brother

• Aiden#62Variant of Aidan, meaning “fire”^*
• Ayden#257Variant of Aidan, meaning “fire”^*
• Owen#31Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #31 vs #170 in 2025
• Ivan#162Same root as John, possibly meaning “God is gracious”^*
• Finn#206“the Sami”^*
• Ronan#247Irish, meaning “little seal”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Keira’s. Rank is US 2025.