Kira
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Persian or Irish. Variant of Kyra or borrowed from Russian Ки́ра (Kíra), ultimately from Persian کوروش (Kūrūš). Also used as a respelling of Ciara, from Irish [Term?].
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Kira (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Kira has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2017. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 7 |
| 2005 | 10 |
| 2006 | 12 |
| 2007 | 20 |
| 2008 | 13 |
| 2009 | 17 |
| 2010 | 20 |
| 2011 | 18 |
| 2012 | 13 |
| 2013 | 17 |
| 2014 | 21 |
| 2015 | 22 |
| 2016 | 33 |
| 2017 | 37 |
| 2018 | 33 |
| 2019 | 18 |
| 2020 | 18 |
| 2021 | 20 |
| 2022 | 14 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 50 |
| 2000 | 55 |
| 2001 | 58 |
| 2002 | 59 |
| 2003 | 62 |
| 2004 | 74 |
| 2005 | 87 |
| 2006 | 100 |
| 2007 | 126 |
| 2008 | 143 |
| 2009 | 167 |
| 2010 | 189 |
| 2011 | 208 |
| 2012 | 225 |
| 2013 | 249 |
| 2014 | 274 |
| 2015 | 302 |
| 2016 | 334 |
| 2017 | 388 |
| 2018 | 426 |
| 2019 | 449 |
| 2020 | 470 |
Kira in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Kira.Hi! My name is Kira.
- Har du träffat Kira? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Kira? She started working here on Monday.
- Vet du om Kira kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Kira is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Kiras mamma är lärare.Kira's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Kiras mamma is Kira's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Kira
How do you pronounce Kira in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Kira in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Kira mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Persian or Irish. Variant of Kyra or borrowed from Russian Ки́ра (Kíra), ultimately from Persian کوروش (Kūrūš). Also used as a respelling of Ciara, from Irish [Term?].
How popular is Kira in Sweden?
14 babies were named Kira in 2022. In 2020, 470 people in Sweden had Kira as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2017 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.