Ciara (given name)

Ciara
Pronunciation	keer-ə, /ˈkɪərə/,Template:SEE-ahr-ə
Gender	female
Origin
Word/Name	Irish Gaelic
Meaning	black, little dark one
Region of origin	Ireland
Other names
Related names	Ceara, Cer, Cera, Ciar, Ciora, Cyra, Chiara, Keara, Keira, Kiara, Kiera, Kira, Kyra, Sierra

Ciara (IPA: /ˈkɪərə/) is a popular Irish language female name and was tenth on the list of most popular names given to baby girls in Ireland in 2006. It is the feminine version of the name Ciarán, meaning "black" in Irish Gaelic, and was also the name of Saint Ciara, a seventh century Irish saint venerated by the Roman Catholic Church. The name's spelling has occasionally been Anglicized as Keira, Keara or Kiera.

The similar names Chiara, Kyra and Kira all have other origins. Chiara is an Italian variant of the Latin origin name Claire and means "bright, clear," while Kyra and Kira are both feminine versions of the Persian name Cyrus. All three names, along with variant spellings such as Kiara and Kierra, have been used with some frequency in English-speaking countries and are often confused with Ciara. The name Kiara (pronounced kee-ar-ə), used for a character in the sequel to The Lion King, has also seen regular use.

In the United States, the name Ciara is also sometimes pronounced /siːˈɑrə/. This is the pronunciation used by the singer Ciara. This name may have been inspired in part by the popularity of a perfume brand called Ciara (pronounced see-ar-ə, "C-R-uh" after the initials of Charles Revson) created by Revlon in 1973, as well as by the popularity in the United States in recent years of the name Sierra, which means "saw" in Spanish and has been used as a name for mountain ranges.^[1]

Notable people named Ciara

• Ciara Arnette
• Ciara Durkin
• Ciara Harris
• Ciara Janson
• Ciara Newell
• Ciara Sotto

Fictional characters

• Ciara Brady

See also

• List of Irish-language given names

Notes

1. ^ Behind the Name

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