| Shira | Shifra | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | song | Beautiful |
| Origin | hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | SHEE-rah | SHIF-rah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1941 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2009 (159) | 2025 (68) |
| In 2025 | 79 | 0 |
| Trend | Declining | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Shira | Shifra |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 430 | 291 |
| 2010s | 861 | 425 |
| 2000s | 1,324 | 361 |
| 1990s | 988 | 248 |
| 1980s | 1,182 | 207 |
| 1970s | 650 | 123 |
| 1960s | 224 | 33 |
| 1950s | 131 | 17 |
| 1940s | 25 | 5 |
| 1930s | 0 | 5 |
Modern Hebrew shira, 'song, singing, poetry' (root sh-y-r). A popular contemporary given name; a concrete noun with no theophoric element.
From Hebrew Shifrah, from the root sh-p-r meaning 'to be beautiful/fair, to please'. Borne by one of the midwives in Exodus; traditionally glossed 'beautiful'.
Shira is more popular than Shifra today: about 79 US babies were given the name Shira in 2025, compared with 0 named Shifra.
Shira means song (hebrew origin), while Shifra means Beautiful (hebrew origin).
In US records, Shira first appears in 1941 and Shifra in 0, so Shifra has the longer recorded history.