Kira (given name)
| Kira | |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | kee-ra |
| Gender | mostly female |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Ancient Greece, Japan |
| Meaning | Ruler |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Cyrus, Akira (given name) |
Kira is a usually feminine given name of ancient origin and multiple etymological derivations.
The feminine form is pronounced /ˈkɪərə/ KEER-ə. It might be a feminine form of the name Kiran, pronounced /ˈkɪərən/ KEER-ən. Kiran is of Hindi and Sanskrit origin, meaning "beam of light". Besides Sanskrit, there might be other etymologies from Egyptian, where the word Ki-Ra means "like Ra", or Persian.[1][2] Due to the Greek interpretation of the Persian king's name Kourosh (کوروش, Kūrosh) as Κύρος (Kýros) – which was obviously modeled after the Greek word κύριος (kýrios "lord"), the feminine form being κυρία (kyría) – Kyra (or Kira) can also be understood as a variant of this originally Persian name of uncertain signification.[3] Therefore, it is also in use as a feminine form of the Greek diminutive form Cyril. Cyrus was the name of several kings of Persia, including Cyrus the Great, who was famous for his vast expansion of the Persian Empire, conquering Babylon; he is known to many today from the Bible, for freeing the captive Jews (among others) and allowing them to return to their homeland.
In Russian Kira (Ки́ра) is the feminine form of the masculine name Kir, meaning "mistress, ruler", but can translate to "leader of the people", "one the people look to" or "beloved".[4] Kira could also have arrived into Russian from the Persian-Greek name Kyra. Kira can also be the diminutive of the old and rare masculine given name Avvakir.[5]
Kira is one of several Anglicized forms of the Irish name Ciara, which in Irish means "dark haired" .[6]
There is also a Japanese name, romanized as Kira, which is common in Japan, as both given name and family name. Kira kira also means "glittery, shiny" in Japanese. [7]
Variant forms include Kaira, Keera, Keira, Kiera, Kyra, Kyrah, Kyreena, Kyrha, Kyria, Kyrie, Kyrene, Kyrra and Kirra.[8]
People with this name
- Kira Bulten (born 1973), Dutch Olympic swimmer
- Kira Clavell, Canadian actress
- Kira Cochrane (born 1977), British journalist
- Kira Davis, American film producer
- Kira Hall (born 1962), American anthropologist
- Kira Hurley (born 1986), Canadian professional ice hockey player
- Kira Inugami, Japanese manga artist
- Kira Isabella (born 1993), Canadian country music artist
- Kira Ivanova (1963–2001), Russian figure skater
- Kira Kener (born 1974), American pornographic actress
- Kira Kosarin (born 1997), American 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, British performance artist
- Kira Plastinina (born 1992), Russian fashion designer
- Kira Poutanen (born 1974), Finnish writer and actress
- Kira Reed (born 1971), American actress
- Kira Roessler (born 1962), American musician
- Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia (1909–1967)
- Princess Kira of Prussia (1943–2004)
- Kira Salak (born 1971), American writer
- Kira Skov (born 1976), Danish singer
- Kira Soltanovich (born 1973), Ukrainian comedian
- Kira Vincent-Davis (born 1979), American voice actress
- Kira Walkenhorst (born 1990), German beach volleyball player
- Kira Willey, American musician
- Kira Zvorykina (1919–2014), Soviet and Ukrainian chess player
- Pseudonyms
- Kira (German singer) (born 1978), stage name of Janine Scholz
- Kira (Belgian singer) (born 1977), stage name of Natasja de Witte
- Kira Sugiyama (1910–1988), Japanese photographer
- The name given to the person who uploaded the pictures in the Edison Chen photo scandal
Fictional characters
- Kira (Death Note), alias of the protagonist Light Yagami in the Japanese manga/anime franchise Death Note.
- Kira (Gelfling) in the film The Dark Crystal
- Kira (Iggy Arbuckle), a rat in the animated series Iggy Arbuckle
- Kira (Mortal Kombat)
- Kira the Seer in the Charmed television series universe
- Kira Argounova, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's We the Living
- Kira Finster in animated Nickelodeon TV series Rugrats and All Grown Up!
- Kira Ford (aka Yellow Dino Ranger) in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder
- Kyra Hart in the TV show Reba, played by Scarlett Pomers
- Kira Nerys, one of the main characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Kira is her family name)
- Kira Sakuratsuki in the anime Futakoi
- Kira Yamato in the TV anime series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
- Kira Yoshikage, a primary antagonist and serial killer in the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
- Kira Yukimura, one of the main characters in the MTV show "Teen Wolf"
- Izuru Kira, a soul reaper in the anime Bleach
- Kira, the main character of the book Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
- Kira, daughter of Sarah Manning in the television series Orphan Black
- Kira in the animated TV series Zack & Quack
- Kyra in the movie The Chronicles of Riddick
- Kira in the movie Xanadu, played by Olivia Newton-John
- Kira, a Japanese mercenary in the video game Dirty Bomb
- Kira Aso, female protagonist in the Japanese manga Mars
- Kira Carsen in the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic
- Kira Daidohji in the video game series Arcana Heart
- Kira Sumeragi in the anime Uta no Prince-Sama
- Sakuya Kira in the manga and anime Angel Sanctuary
- Kira a tiger in the movie Ice Age: Continental Drift
See also
References
- ↑ Persian meaning of the name Kira
- ↑ http://www.babynamewizard.com/baby-name/girl/kira
- ↑ Greek meaning of the name Kira
- ↑ Russian Translation for Kira
- ↑ Н. А. Петровский (N. A. Petrovsky). "Словарь русских личных имён" (Dictionary of Russian First Names). ООО Издательство "АСТ". Москва, 2005. ISBN 5-17-002940-3. page 31
- ↑ Gaelic meaning of the name Kira
- ↑ Japanese & various meanings of the name Kira
- ↑ Origins and 11 variant names of Kyra