| Ira | Meera | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | the earth; goddess of speech | the devotee Mirabai; sea, boundary |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | EE-rah | MEE-rah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1965 |
| Peak year | 2025 (222) | 2025 (246) |
| In 2025 | 222 | 246 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Ira | Meera |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,053 | 1,221 |
| 2010s | 980 | 1,561 |
| 2000s | 131 | 716 |
| 1990s | 96 | 424 |
| 1980s | 151 | 222 |
| 1970s | 191 | 89 |
| 1960s | 318 | 26 |
| 1950s | 553 | 0 |
| 1940s | 657 | 0 |
| 1930s | 657 | 0 |
| 1920s | 900 | 0 |
| 1910s | 652 | 0 |
| 1900s | 359 | 0 |
| 1890s | 255 | 0 |
| 1880s | 172 | 0 |
From Sanskrit ira (इरा), 'the earth; waters; speech', and a name of the goddess of speech and learning (linked to Saraswati). Cross-cultural: Ira is also a Hebrew male name and a Slavic short form of Irina.
Best known for the 16th-century saint-poet Mirabai, devotee of Krishna. The word mira (मीरा) is glossed 'sea, ocean, boundary/limit'. Cross-cultural: Mira also means 'peace' in Slavic and occurs in Arabic and Latin naming.
Meera is more popular than Ira today: about 246 US babies were given the name Meera in 2025, compared with 222 named Ira.
Ira means the earth; goddess of speech (sanskrit origin), while Meera means the devotee Mirabai; sea, boundary (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Ira first appears in 1880 and Meera in 1965, so Ira has the longer recorded history.