Ciara
Ciara was the 1408th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 155 babies. Its best year was 2005, when it ranked 149th with 2,325 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 651 places. More babies were named Ciara in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning "dark-haired" · Irish
Say it KEER-uh /ˈkɪrə/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,408 girls, down 192 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 155girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20052,325 babies
- Total since 1880
- 34,883babies recorded
What does the name Ciara mean?
Ciara is a modern Irish feminine of Ciarán, a name built from ciar, "black, dark", with a diminutive ending, so "little dark one". Wikipedia also mentions a 7th-century Irish Saint Ciara. In Irish it is said KEER-uh, and it is often spelled Keira or Kiara in English. In the US the R&B singer Ciara made it popular in the mid-2000s, when many Americans say see-AIR-uh.
ciar (Irish, “black, dark”)-án (Irish, “diminutive suffix”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Pronunciation: Irish spelling: the C is hard (K).
Related names: Ciarán, Kiara, Keira, Kieran, Ciaran.
See also: Irish names, names that mean a color.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Ciara', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Ciarán', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Ciara (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Ciara popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 7 since 1989.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,408 | 155 |
| 2020 | #1,216 | 188 |
| 2010 | #439 | 701 |
| 2000 | #282 | 1,139 |
| 1990 | #294 | 944 |
| 1980 | #1,330 | 95 |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Ciara, counting every spelling?
Ciara is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #978 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,408 for Ciara on its own. Together these spellings went to 246 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ciara | 155 | #1,408 | 901 |
| Siara | 75 | #2,406 | 394 |
| Siarah | 10 | #10,009 | 26 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Ciara?
155 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Ciara (0.04 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Ciara born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 54 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Ciara.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Ciara?
About 34,300 people born in the US named Ciara are alive today, with a median age of 27; half are between 20 and 33. That makes Ciara mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Ciara by state
How common Ciara was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Massachusetts (2.8×), New Jersey (2.1×), Florida (1.7×), New York (1.7×), Pennsylvania (1.6×). In 28 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Ciara: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Ciara, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Ciara · Sibling names for Ciara
Questions about the name Ciara
What does Ciara mean?
Ciara means “"dark-haired"” (Irish origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Ciara?
Ciara was the 1408th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 155 babies. Its best year was 2005, when it ranked 149th with 2,325 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 651 places. More babies were named Ciara in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Ciara a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Ciara in the US.
Where is Ciara most popular?
In 2021–2025, Ciara was most common in Massachusetts (0.31 per 1,000 girls), followed by New Jersey and Florida.