Kiera as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Kiera

What is the meaning of the name Kiera ?

The baby name Kiera is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced KEER-ə,/ˈkɪərə/.

Kiera is Irish in Origin.

Kiera is an Anglicized Irish given name from Gaelic Ciara, feminine of Ciar, rooted in Old Irish ciar “dark, black,” often understood as “dark-haired” or “dusky.” The name appears in early Irish tradition via a 7th-century abbess, Saint Cíara (also Cera), providing medieval precedent. It entered English use in Ireland and Britain and then the wider Anglophone world; in the late 20th century it rose in the US and UK, aided by the visibility of the spelling Keira.

Pronounced KEE-ruh. Principal variants include Ciara (traditional Irish), Keira (common in the UK), Keara, and, by English conflation, Kyra/Kira - though Kira and Kyra also have distinct Slavic and Greek origins. Related masculine forms are Ciar and Ciarán/Ciaran. The meaning centers on “dark” or “dark-haired,” sometimes rendered poetically as “little dark one” by association with Ciarán. Not to be confused with Kiara/Chiara, derived from Italian Chiara “clear, bright.”