| Yael | Shira | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | ibex, mountain goat | song |
| Origin | hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | yah-EL | SHEE-rah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1954 | 1941 |
| Peak year | 2022 (166) | 2009 (159) |
| In 2025 | 127 | 79 |
| Trend | Rising | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Yael | Shira |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 842 | 430 |
| 2010s | 1,117 | 861 |
| 2000s | 884 | 1,324 |
| 1990s | 605 | 988 |
| 1980s | 522 | 1,182 |
| 1970s | 359 | 650 |
| 1960s | 154 | 224 |
| 1950s | 18 | 131 |
| 1940s | 0 | 25 |
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.
Modern Hebrew shira, 'song, singing, poetry' (root sh-y-r). A popular contemporary given name; a concrete noun with no theophoric element.
Yael is more popular than Shira today: about 127 US babies were given the name Yael in 2025, compared with 79 named Shira.
Yael means ibex, mountain goat (hebrew origin), while Shira means song (hebrew origin).
In US records, Yael first appears in 1954 and Shira in 1941, so Shira has the longer recorded history.