| Ira | Sia | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | the earth; goddess of speech | Form of Sita |
| Origin | sanskrit | Sanskrit |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | EE-rah | SEE-ah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1968 |
| Peak year | 2025 (222) | 2025 (215) |
| In 2025 | 222 | 215 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Ira | Sia |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,053 | 1,119 |
| 2010s | 980 | 1,026 |
| 2000s | 131 | 355 |
| 1990s | 96 | 121 |
| 1980s | 151 | 103 |
| 1970s | 191 | 57 |
| 1960s | 318 | 9 |
| 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.
Sia is a short form of Sita, the devoted heroine of the Ramayana.
Ira is more popular than Sia today: about 222 US babies were given the name Ira in 2025, compared with 215 named Sia.
Ira means the earth; goddess of speech (sanskrit origin), while Sia means Form of Sita (Sanskrit origin).
In US records, Ira first appears in 1880 and Sia in 1968, so Ira has the longer recorded history.