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Yara as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Yara

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The baby name Yara is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈjɑːrə/ (YAH-rah) — common English/Arabic,/iˈaɾa/ (ee-AH-rah) — Brazilian Portuguese (Iara),/ˈjɛərə/ or /ˈjærə/ (YAIR-uh / YAIR-ah) — alternate English pronunciations.

Yara is Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 2.0
Origin: Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish
Pronunciation: /ˈjɑːrə/ (YAH-rah) — common English/Arabic,/iˈaɾa/ (ee-AH-rah) — Brazilian Portuguese (Iara),/ˈjɛərə/ or /ˈjærə/ (YAIR-uh / YAIR-ah) — alternate English pronunciations

What is the meaning of the name Yara ?

The baby name Yara is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈjɑːrə/ (YAH-rah) — common English/Arabic,/iˈaɾa/ (ee-AH-rah) — Brazilian Portuguese (Iara),/ˈjɛərə/ or /ˈjærə/ (YAIR-uh / YAIR-ah) — alternate English pronunciations.

Yara is Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish in Origin.

Yara is a multicultural feminine name with several credible roots. In Brazilian Portuguese it reflects the Tupi-Guarani mythic figure Iara/Yara, a river siren whose name is glossed "lady of the water." In the Middle East it functions as a modern Arabic given name, often understood as "small butterfly," and also overlaps with Persian/Kurdish yar/yara, "friend, beloved, helper." Hebrew Ya'ara (יערה) is a closely similar name meaning "honeycomb," ultimately from ya'ar, "forest," and is commonly rendered in English as Yaara or Yara.

Use of Yara spread in Brazil through 19th-century Romantic literature and remains mainstream there, while the Arabic and Persian forms gained broad popularity in the late 20th century across the Levant and diaspora. The name rose internationally in the 2000s, helped by actress Yara Shahidi and Lebanese singer Yara. Established variants include Iara (Portuguese) and the Hebrew forms Yaara/Ya'ara; spellings and accents vary by language.

Yara has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Yara

Yara Shahidi Actor · Born 2000 · United States Yara Shahidi is an American actress and producer best known for playing Zoey Johnson on Black-ish and its spinoff Grown-ish. She started acting as a child, with early film roles in Imagine That, Butter, and Alex Cross.

Yara – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Germany Girls 2025 #1 — 411
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
Switzerland Girls 2024 #23 170 1,786
BF Boys 0 #26 1 439
SY 0 #42 5,767 11,684
JO Girls 0 #44 1,479 7,570
IQ Girls 0 #45 1,737 11,303
EG Girls 0 #48 26,492 14,742
PR 0 #53 3 1,497
AO 0 #59 18 2,729
IN 0 #71 1 2,963
SA Girls 0 #74 3,240 25,931
JP 0 #77 1 4,057
AO Girls 0 #83 151 4,575
QA 0 #85 16 7,011
IQ 0 #86 44 3,533
PS Girls 0 #87 1,079 10,981
AF Girls 0 #94 1 2,402
KW 0 #97 20 5,216
LB 0 #97 1,737 13,263
JO 0 #98 40 2,158
SD 0 #101 2 2,130
TW 0 #103 1 4,523
EG 0 #106 791 6,387
PH 0 #109 2 5,607
Belgium Girls 2024 #111 75 424
OM 0 #117 5 6,215
Norway Girls 2025 #119 8 453
PA 0 #119 12 3,797
EC 0 #120 2 2,502
CY Girls 0 #124 2 3,755
MU 0 #136 2 3,613
PR Girls 0 #139 23 3,171
QA Girls 0 #139 189 15,378
AE 0 #147 31 10,220
MT Girls 0 #151 3 3,773
IL Girls 0 #158 927 11,648
Sweden Girls 2022 #161 19 1,568
CR 0 #163 3 5,526
LU Girls 0 #167 19 4,850
Canada Girls 2024 #169 119 2,795
PS 0 #177 42 5,692
AE Girls 0 #180 452 20,968
UY 0 #182 1 2,477
SD Girls 0 #184 183 7,678
RU 0 #193 2 3,641
DK 0 #205 2 5,198
SA 0 #205 91 10,560
KW Girls 0 #206 359 19,177
LU Boys 0 #220 1 4,970
BR Girls 0 #221 2,060 12,708
PT 0 #234 13 4,161
IL 0 #237 38 6,291
NA Girls 0 #237 1 7,146
BD 0 #240 2 5,992
PA Girls 0 #241 280 9,861
GR Girls 0 #245 5 6,293
AO Boys 0 #247 3 5,568
GH 0 #247 2 5,396
JP Girls 0 #247 5 6,592
PT Girls 0 #251 243 7,952
EC Girls 0 #255 4 3,650
OM Girls 0 #259 138 15,987
BR 0 #261 86 5,969
GR Boys 0 #272 2 6,912
NG 0 #272 1 5,926
AF Boys 0 #274 1 3,535
SG 0 #282 1 11,010
TW Girls 0 #284 6 8,139
YE 0 #286 98 8,639
France Girls 2021 #288 123 3,185
KZ Boys 0 #293 4 6,578
DK Girls 0 #298 19 7,429
MU Girls 0 #323 29 8,539
JO Boys 0 #324 54 7,057
PE 0 #328 2 6,350
KZ Girls 0 #329 4 5,862
LY 0 #332 218 12,703
GH Girls 0 #337 1 6,973
GT 0 #338 1 5,948
EG Boys 0 #339 987 15,035
CZ Girls 0 #345 7 5,378
CN Girls 0 #351 9 8,829
MY 0 #353 2 12,352
NL 0 #356 36 2,481
GH Boys 0 #359 3 8,138
BO 0 #360 22 6,868
MX 0 #360 54 8,339
PL Girls 0 #363 2 5,096
MU Boys 0 #369 1 8,477
Finland Girls 0 #379 13 1,368
PT Boys 0 #379 3 7,951
PH Girls 0 #381 10 13,098
Austria Girls 0 #391 30 1,885
CL 0 #400 12 6,867
BD Girls 0 #401 6 8,413
PH Boys 0 #408 1 11,440
UY Boys 0 #411 3 5,922
NL Girls 0 #422 711 5,933
Spain 0 #426 27 2,326
BH 0 #430 124 17,937
TN 0 #431 528 13,765
BO Girls 0 #432 188 9,488
IQ Boys 0 #435 247 13,071
CR Girls 0 #441 92 11,342
SD Boys 0 #461 6 10,523
United States Girls 2024 #463 519 8,487
RU Girls 0 #463 36 11,913
CO 0 #465 16 7,768
UY Girls 0 #466 45 6,731
GT Girls 0 #473 33 7,500
MA 0 #473 1,086 20,986
ZA 0 #474 1 14,421
AR Boys 0 #482 2 7,628
PS Boys 0 #486 63 10,655
GT Boys 0 #498 2 7,625
PA Boys 0 #504 2 9,305
CR Boys 0 #510 1 10,188
RU Boys 0 #521 6 12,621
DZ 0 #522 942 20,130
MX Girls 0 #531 1,077 17,781
IR Girls 0 #538 8 8,334
CM Girls 0 #558 3 11,671
IR Boys 0 #559 7 10,162
IL Boys 0 #571 37 10,983
AR Girls 0 #577 23 8,289
BD Boys 0 #605 1 10,045
BO Boys 0 #617 6 9,244
Spain Girls 0 #621 397 5,561
SG Girls 0 #628 5 18,916
HK Girls 0 #648 3 16,104
IN Girls 0 #649 6 13,121
Finland Girls 2026 #675 64 3,895
IT 0 #687 28 4,183
QA Boys 0 #690 18 18,093
Germany Girls 0 #707 133 4,949
BR Boys 0 #729 23 12,213
CL Girls 0 #748 104 14,098
KW Boys 0 #751 19 18,755
CO Girls 0 #768 335 16,140
NG Girls 0 #822 5 15,093
PE Girls 0 #826 118 14,861
United States Boys 2024 #887 6 7,044
CO Boys 0 #900 21 15,656
OM Boys 0 #912 7 17,948
PE Boys 0 #918 9 14,506
NL Boys 0 #942 10 5,873
MY Girls 0 #963 32 24,821
MX Boys 0 #965 18 16,355
TR 0 #974 240 19,440
IN Boys 0 #990 12 16,750
NG Boys 0 #996 6 16,906
IT Girls 0 #1,015 454 9,415
AE Boys 0 #1,069 24 22,615
ZA Girls 0 #1,128 14 25,928
ZA Boys 0 #1,162 17 25,619
MY Boys 0 #1,179 4 25,439
SA Boys 0 #1,428 187 28,008
IT Boys 0 #1,453 19 10,046

Yara is popular in 75 countries — most recent births per country:

France
Canada
Flanders, Belgium
Belgium
Switzerland

Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!

People also ask about Yara

Yara is predominantly a girl's name.
Yara is a 2 syllable name, pronounced /ˈjɑːrə/ (YAH-rah) — common English/Arabic,/iˈaɾa/ (ee-AH-rah) — Brazilian Portuguese (Iara),/ˈjɛərə/ or /ˈjærə/ (YAIR-uh / YAIR-ah) — alternate English pronunciations.
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Iara, Yarah, Yaara, Yaira, Yarra and Yaraah.
Yes, very popular — Yara ranked #1 in Germany in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 11 countries.
Yara ranks highest in Germany (#1 in 2025).
Yara's popularity is rising significantly. It moved from #333 in 2011 to #288 in 2021 in France.
Yes — 1 notable people named Yara are in our database, including Yara Shahidi (Actor).