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ArchivesOrigin and pronunciation of Kyra
Does anyone know for sure where Kyra came from?
I am trying to find out everything about this name.
Speculations are that it is a variant of Kira (which is Russian) or Cyrus (which is Greek) or maybe Ciara (KEE-ra) which is Irish?
However to me it looks more like it should be KY-ra so I guess relations with Cyrus make more sense.
Anyone know anything?
What I could find out (I pronounced Kyra as KY-ra and Kira, Keira, Kiera, Ciara, Kirra as KEE-ra):
- Kyra was first used in the US (five births or more) in 1919 with 5 births. It therefore has longer usage in the US than Kira (at least according to these statistics) which first appeared in 1938 with 5 births, almost 20 years later (Keira appears first in 1962, Kiera only appears first in 1963, Ciara in 1972, Kirra in 1975). Maybe this sort of confirms that it is more likely to have come from Cyrus? Cyrus starts appearing in the beginning (1880, first year of statistics). As all of the Kira and Ciara variants appeared much later than both Cyrus and Kyra.
- this is not really as much evidence as Scotland only has statistics going back to 1974. But Kyra shows the highest level of popularity in 1974 there as well (Kyra: 3 births, Kira: 1 birth, Kiera: 0 births, Ciara: 0 births, Kirra: 0 births). Only in the course of the 70s do the other variants become more common (there must have been on namesake in the 70s for Keira as the name suddenly jumps up quite a bit) then in the early 2000s Keira becomes super popular because of Keira Knightley even though in the 90s it already shows potential (my guess is that this was when the Irish Ciara and variants came over due to the huge popularity in Ireland).
- in Ireland Ciara is very traditional and popular reaching #2 at some point. However Kyra follows a different popularity pattern and doesn't really group in with the other names. Whereas Ciara, Kiera, Keira are all falling rather quickly Kyra seems to be enjoying the same level of popularity as in previous years which makes me wonder whether the Irish say KY-ra and it is seen as a different name.
- Kyra Sedgwick (born 1965) seems to be the most famous person named this. She is American and says it like KEE-ra.
- However I watched TV series, movies etc. and it is KY-ra (such as in the recent Alex Rider Amazon Prime series).
Thoughts?
Please rate my list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/6232
I am trying to find out everything about this name.
Speculations are that it is a variant of Kira (which is Russian) or Cyrus (which is Greek) or maybe Ciara (KEE-ra) which is Irish?
However to me it looks more like it should be KY-ra so I guess relations with Cyrus make more sense.
Anyone know anything?
What I could find out (I pronounced Kyra as KY-ra and Kira, Keira, Kiera, Ciara, Kirra as KEE-ra):
- Kyra was first used in the US (five births or more) in 1919 with 5 births. It therefore has longer usage in the US than Kira (at least according to these statistics) which first appeared in 1938 with 5 births, almost 20 years later (Keira appears first in 1962, Kiera only appears first in 1963, Ciara in 1972, Kirra in 1975). Maybe this sort of confirms that it is more likely to have come from Cyrus? Cyrus starts appearing in the beginning (1880, first year of statistics). As all of the Kira and Ciara variants appeared much later than both Cyrus and Kyra.
- this is not really as much evidence as Scotland only has statistics going back to 1974. But Kyra shows the highest level of popularity in 1974 there as well (Kyra: 3 births, Kira: 1 birth, Kiera: 0 births, Ciara: 0 births, Kirra: 0 births). Only in the course of the 70s do the other variants become more common (there must have been on namesake in the 70s for Keira as the name suddenly jumps up quite a bit) then in the early 2000s Keira becomes super popular because of Keira Knightley even though in the 90s it already shows potential (my guess is that this was when the Irish Ciara and variants came over due to the huge popularity in Ireland).
- in Ireland Ciara is very traditional and popular reaching #2 at some point. However Kyra follows a different popularity pattern and doesn't really group in with the other names. Whereas Ciara, Kiera, Keira are all falling rather quickly Kyra seems to be enjoying the same level of popularity as in previous years which makes me wonder whether the Irish say KY-ra and it is seen as a different name.
- Kyra Sedgwick (born 1965) seems to be the most famous person named this. She is American and says it like KEE-ra.
- However I watched TV series, movies etc. and it is KY-ra (such as in the recent Alex Rider Amazon Prime series).
Thoughts?
Please rate my list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/6232
2
Replies
My guess is that the early usage of Kyra / Kira in the Anglo-Saxon world was Russian influenced, as a feminization of Kyrill, among immigrants.
Based on Wikipedia, the first internationally notable women with this name in the anglo-saxo world were women born in the 1910s, like Grand Duchess Kira of Russia, Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne, and Kyra Vayne, who may have popularized the name in the mid-20th century.
My guess is that the rise in popularity of this name in the 1960s was above-all influenced by the popularity of similar-sounding names like Carol, Karen, Carla, Carrie, Kara, and Kerry. I wouldn't be surprised if US baby name books gave Kyra/Kira an Irish etymology (connecting it to Ciara), thus promoting the name among Irish-Americans. (For example, in the prominent Kennedy family you find names like Kerry, Kara, and Kyra).
Celebrities born in the second-half of the century helped popularise the name further, as you mention.
Conclusion: early usage in the US was Russian-influenced, later usage was inspired by Ciara and above all by similar sounding names, and eventually by celebrities.
Based on Wikipedia, the first internationally notable women with this name in the anglo-saxo world were women born in the 1910s, like Grand Duchess Kira of Russia, Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne, and Kyra Vayne, who may have popularized the name in the mid-20th century.
My guess is that the rise in popularity of this name in the 1960s was above-all influenced by the popularity of similar-sounding names like Carol, Karen, Carla, Carrie, Kara, and Kerry. I wouldn't be surprised if US baby name books gave Kyra/Kira an Irish etymology (connecting it to Ciara), thus promoting the name among Irish-Americans. (For example, in the prominent Kennedy family you find names like Kerry, Kara, and Kyra).
Celebrities born in the second-half of the century helped popularise the name further, as you mention.
Conclusion: early usage in the US was Russian-influenced, later usage was inspired by Ciara and above all by similar sounding names, and eventually by celebrities.
This message was edited 3/13/2022, 3:33 AM
3
My first thought is that although I like to combine spellings in popularity charts as much as possible, these names are a perfect example of why that is sometimes not a good idea. There is no way to know how an individual pronounces her name unless she is very well known or you ask her. You cannot simply assume that Kyra has one pronunciation while Kira, Keira, and Kiera have another.
In addition, though Ciara is certainly Irish, you cannot assume that everyone pronounces it the Irish way. In fact, some girls named Ciara and Ciera in the US pronounce their names "see-AR-a" and "see-AIR-a" (and some Kieras are "kee-AIR-a").
Kyra is not an intuitive feminine form of Cyrus for English-speakers. It would make sense, though, that some of the early 20th c. Kyras and Kiras were of Russian descent and in that case it very well could have been seen as a form of Cyrus.
You would need to hear from an Irish person or someone who has done research on name popularity in Ireland to answer the Kyra vs. Ciara/Kiera/Keira question.
In short, I think we are dealing with a group of names that have at least two distinct origins, and the various spellings have become rather arbitrary and do not map clearly to one or the other.
In addition, though Ciara is certainly Irish, you cannot assume that everyone pronounces it the Irish way. In fact, some girls named Ciara and Ciera in the US pronounce their names "see-AR-a" and "see-AIR-a" (and some Kieras are "kee-AIR-a").
Kyra is not an intuitive feminine form of Cyrus for English-speakers. It would make sense, though, that some of the early 20th c. Kyras and Kiras were of Russian descent and in that case it very well could have been seen as a form of Cyrus.
You would need to hear from an Irish person or someone who has done research on name popularity in Ireland to answer the Kyra vs. Ciara/Kiera/Keira question.
In short, I think we are dealing with a group of names that have at least two distinct origins, and the various spellings have become rather arbitrary and do not map clearly to one or the other.
This message was edited 3/7/2022, 8:37 AM
2