The baby name Mira blends effortless international style with a pop culture boost.
Thanks to Kari for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME MIRA MEAN?
Mira offers a truly pan-global pedigree.
- First, mir means peace in Slavic languages. (Think of the Russian space station.) Longer names like Miroslava shorten to Mira, though it also stands on its own.
- Then there’s a Sanskrit version of the word, meaning ocean. Princess Mira – or Meera – lived in the sixteenth century. She wrote bhajans – sacred songs – devoted to Lord Krishna. She’s remains an important figure in Hinduism.
- In Hebrew, Meir and Meiramean light. The pronunciation is likely a little bit different, with both the “e” and “i” pronounced.
- Fulke Greville wrote a poem to Myra in the seventeenth century. Fragrant myrrh likely inspired the character’s name.
- This would track with another possible reason for Myra’s use: a feminine form of Myron, which comes from myrrh.
- Myra is also a re-arranging of the letters in evergreen girls’ name Mary, and might be a short form of Miriam and similar names.
- It is tempting to link Mira to the Latin word miraculum – the source of our word miracle – or mirus and mirabilis – wonderful. Names like Miranda and Mirabelle could be cousins.
All of this makes the baby name Mira infinitely flexible.
MIRA IN THE NIGHT SKY
In 1662, astronomer Johannes Hevelius was thinking of the Latin root when he named a star Mira. Part of the constellation Cetus, Mira is a variable star, meaning it disappears for months at a time.
Cetus is a sea monster – possibly a whale. The star Mira appears to worn on the beast’s collar, almost as a necklace.
MIRA AND MYRA IN THE 20TH & 21ST CENTURIES
Alternative spelling Myra shares the same roots as the baby name Mira.
Gore Vidal’s 1968 bestselling novel Myra Breckenridge might be familiar. A film adaptation followed in 1970, starring Raquel Welch in the title role. Scandalous in its day, it’s the story of Myra – born Myron.
There’s also Mira Sorvino. The actress scored an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1995’s Mighty Aphrodite.
Disney animated series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, a Toy Story spin-off, included a princess called Mira Nova. Between 2020 and 2022, Disney Junior animated series Mira, Royal Detective, followed the adventures of a young girl assigned to solve mysteries in the kingdom of Jalpur, a fictional kingdom resembling India.
And then there’s 2025 animated smash hit KPop Demon Hunters. The story of a girl group who also saves the world, it centers on singer Rumi, as well as the other members of Huntr/x, Zoey and Mira. Mira is known as the most talented dancer of the three. Her singing voice is provided by Audrey Nuna.
Based on the movie’s runaway popularity, odds are strong that the baby name Mira will rise in use.
Worth noting: not everyone pronounces Mira and Myra the same way. Mira is often said “meer” while Myra sounds like “my” and rhymes with “rye.”
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME MIRA?
In recent years, the baby name Mira sometimes came up as an alternative to Top Ten Mia and popular chocies like Mila and Maya.
As of 2024, the baby name Mira ranked #380 for girls in the US – a new high.
Myra came in at #646. It’s the slightly more old-fashioned option by current standards.
If you’re after a name that feels effortlessly international and nicely on-trend, the baby name Mira might belong on your list.
What do you think of the baby name Mira?
This post was first published on May 7, 2013, this post was revised on January 27, 2026.
Our little girl is due in October. Her name is Ember Mira, our little burning star. I am so in love with the name.
Our little girl is Mira Love. I am Indian and love having a traditional but easy to pronounce Indian name! We went through years of struggle before Mira Love came to us so when our young nephew announced, on her arrival, “Oh! Mira. Because she is a miracle!” it suddenly made sense. It all does really – she is our light, our peace, our world.
The Love part comes from my husband’s family. His grandmother was Mary Love and there are many Loves scattered through their family tree. I love them together!
I have a daughter, Mira Brynn. Fun to see the name celebrated!
We are considering Miro for our third boy. We have a daughter and two sons already with Polish names. Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on Miro? I know usually it’s Miroslav, but that full length version seems a little cumbersome in an English speaking country… Your thoughts are much appreciated!
Miro sounds lovely! 🙂 I am just choosing a name for myself as I want to change my Michaela (that never felt right) to something else and my top pick is Mira, closely followed by Mea. I am from Slovakia where Mira would be Miroslava, just like Miro would be Miroslav – but I live abroad in Finland and being Miroslava would make me so so so visibly foreign and Slavic 😀 Miro/Mira are beautiful and usable in any language and in any culture 🙂
I agree with those who say Myra and Mira are two different names. Except for 5 recent years (2004-2008), Myra has been in the SSA Top 1000 every year since 1880, when it had its highest ranking, #158. Myra is an old name. Wattenberg classifies Myra (which she pronounces MIY-ruh) with “solid citizens”.
Wattenberg classifies Mira differently — “short and sweet” and says of Mira (“MEER-uh”): “Like many simple, feminine names, Mira arose independently in different cultures. …the current preferred pronunciation is with a strong ‘e’ sound. If you prefer the strong ‘i’ sound, consider the spelling Myra to avoid confusion and gain a Scottish flavor.” Mira wasn’t consistently in the SSA Top 1000 until 2003 (and just twice before that) and so far has only risen to #787.
I’ve never liked Myra, but find Mira very appealing.
I’m so happy to read all the comments that you ladies think Myra is a separate name. I correct people quite often that our daughter is Mira not Myra.
I must say, I’ve never really considered Mira before today. Your write-up has changed all that! Suddenly, Mira seems positively sparkly.
And, also, feminine and whimsical, while still tailored and sophisticated. 😉
I pronounce Mira and Myra differently. Meer-a (like mirror) and My – rah (long I). Myra is firmly “old lady” to me, but Mira sounds fresh.
Like C in DC, I don’t pronounce Myra and Mira the same. I didn’t even get similar vibes from Myra and Mira… Mira feels like a sibling for Katja and Annika, while Myra feels like a sibling of Avis and Hazel.
That’s a very good point …
I agree! In fact, I do know a sweet elderly lady named Myra, pronounced MY-rah (long I). Two different names to me!
Mira reminds me of Amira. My friend’s baby is named this, pronounced Uh-MEER-ah, and so it seems natural to pronounce Mira the same way, without the A.
Mira is beauty! I love all the great associations–peace, ocean, star, miracle. It would also make a great short form for Miranda, which I think means wonderful? Another good association. I live in a city with a huge Spanish-speaking population so it also reads as a conjugation of the verb mirar, to look. Not sure if that’s a plus or a minus for the name.
I was surprised that you didn’t mention Mira as a short form of Miranda. I have a 6-year-old granddaughter Miranda Elizabeth (shared middle name with her mom, our daughter) who is called “Mira” almost exclusively. Her dad loved the name Miranda; her mom wanted something short and sweet. This was the perfect name for them and their daughter. I love the Miranda/Mira combination.
Abby, I’m so thrilled you featured Mira. I requested Ian over a year ago while we struggled to get pregnant. I’m thrilled to report that I’m commenting while
my sweet baby Mira James sleeps. All my worries over a boy name and we have a perfect daughter. I first thought of Mira after seeing Mirabel on your blog and loving it while it did not work with our last name. But we think Mira is perfection. We loved the association with peace and the sea. I meant to send in a name story but life happens. We chose her name as soon as we knew she was a girl. We noted the connects to miracle but I never thought much of it until my water broke at 34 weeks. Babies are born much earlier but I was worried to say the least. After a scary labor and worried she would be taken to the NICU, we took our little miracle home. Thank you Abby for providing inspiration for her perfect name.
Oh my goodness – you’re welcome, Jess. So happy for you and your little one – congrats!