| Shira | Yael | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | song | ibex, mountain goat |
| Origin | hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | SHEE-rah | yah-EL |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1941 | 1954 |
| Peak year | 2009 (159) | 2022 (166) |
| In 2025 | 79 | 127 |
| Trend | Declining | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Shira | Yael |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 430 | 842 |
| 2010s | 861 | 1,117 |
| 2000s | 1,324 | 884 |
| 1990s | 988 | 605 |
| 1980s | 1,182 | 522 |
| 1970s | 650 | 359 |
| 1960s | 224 | 154 |
| 1950s | 131 | 18 |
| 1940s | 25 | 0 |
Modern Hebrew shira, 'song, singing, poetry' (root sh-y-r). A popular contemporary given name; a concrete noun with no theophoric element.
From Hebrew ya'el, 'ibex' — a nimble, sure-footed wild mountain goat. The same name as the heroine Jael, who killed Sisera (Judges 4-5). A concrete noun; the 'strength of God' gloss seen on some sites is not the standard derivation.
Yael is more popular than Shira today: about 127 US babies were given the name Yael in 2025, compared with 79 named Shira.
Shira means song (hebrew origin), while Yael means ibex, mountain goat (hebrew origin).
In US records, Shira first appears in 1941 and Yael in 1954, so Shira has the longer recorded history.