Kira (given name)

Kira is an ancient (7000 years old) female given name and is actually unrelated to Ciara, which in Gaelic means dark.^[1]

The girl's name Kyra is pronounced /ˈkɪərə/ keer-ə. It is a form of the name Kiran, pronounced /ˈkɪərən/ keer-ən. Kiran is of Hindi and Sanskrit origin, meaning "beam of light". From Sanskrit, it evolved to the Persian^[2] and Egyptian word Ki-Ra for "like Ra, the sun" and later to ancient Greek where its meaning became "lady" (male name Kyros (see Kyrie), meaning "lord"). A short form of kyria, κυρία, the Greek title of respect for a woman. ^[3]

The word Sire for addressing royalty in western european languages is a modern variant of it. Therefore it can also be used as a female form of Cyril. In Slavonic, it means "strong woman".

Kira (Ки́ра): Feminine form of Russian Kir, meaning "mistress, ruler." This also can translate to "Leader of the people" or "One the people look to".^[4] Though the popularity and direct translation for the Russian forms of the name Kira are debated, there are several other Russian translations including Кира meaning "beloved". Kira is another Russian derivative for the name Kyra, descended from Kyros, the Greek form of the Persian name Kûrush, which may mean "far sighted" or may be related to the Persian word khur "sun". The name is sometimes associated with Greek kyrios "lord". This was the name of several kings of Persia, including Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel.^[5]

The etymologically unrelated Japanese name, romanized as "Kira", is common in Japan, as both given name and family name. "Kira kira" also means glittery, or shiny, in Japanese.^[6]

Kyra has 11 variant forms: Kaira, Keera, Keira, Kira, Kyrah, Kyreena, Kyrha, Kyria, Kyrie, Kyrene and Kyrra. See also Cyrah and Kiran.^[7]

People

• Keira Knightley, née Kiera, (born 1985), English actress
• Keira Zvorykina (born 1919), Soviet chess player
• Kira Bulten (born 1973), Dutch Olympic swimmer
• Kira Chikazane (1563–1588)
• Kira Clavell, Canadian actress
• Kira Cochrane (born 1977), British journalist
• Kira Davis, American film producer
• Kira Hall
• Kira Hurley (born 1986), Canadian professional ice hockey player
• Kira Inugami, Japanese manga artist
• Kira Kener (born 1974), American pornographic actress
• Kira Miró (born 1980), Spanish actress and a presenter
• Kira Muratova (born 1934), Soviet and Ukrainian film director, screenwriter, and actress
• Kira O'Reilly
• Kira Plastinina (born 1992), Russian fashion designer
• Kira Poutanen (born 1974), Finnish writer and actress
• Kira Reed (born 1971)
• Kira Roessler (born 1961)
• Kira Salak (born 1971)
• Kira Skov (born 1976), Danish singer
• Kira Soltanovich (born 1973)
• Kira Vincent-Davis (born 1979)
• Kira Willey
• Kira Yoshinaka (1641–1703)
• Kira Zvorykina (born 1919)

Characters

• Kira Argounova, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's We the Living
• Kira Finster, a minor character from animated Nickelodeon TV series Rugrats and All Grown Up!
• Kira Ford (aka Yellow Dino Ranger), from Power Rangers: Dino Thunder
• Kira (Gelfling), a character in film The Dark Crystal
• Kira Nerys, on the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Kira Sakuratsuki, a character in the anime Futakoi
• Kira Yamato, on the TV anime series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
• Kira Yoshikage, a character in the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
• Kira, the alias of protagonist Light Yagami in Death Note
• Kyra Hart, on the TV show Reba, played by Scarlett Pomers
• Kyra, a character in the movie The Chronicles of Riddick
• Kira the Seer in the Charmed television series universe
• Kira, a character in Xanadu, played by Olivia Newton-John
• Izuru Kira, a soul reaper in the anime Bleach
• Kira (Mortal Kombat)
• Kira (Iggy Arbuckle)

References