Given name & surname
Maira
“star of the sea”·“from the sea of bitterness”
Maira is a variant of Mary. Interpretations include “star of the sea” and “from the sea of bitterness”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Maira is a variant of Mary. Interpretations include “star of the sea” and “from the sea of bitterness”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1944. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Maira through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,358
- 17 boys · 6,341 girls
- Most popular year
- 1992
- 290 babies
- 2025
- 62
- #2,765 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +7%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 62 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,765 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 7.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 290 in 1992. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (13). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 9,988 as a first name in 2020; 242 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Maira’s family of names
In Latvian usage, Maira has a masculine form in MAIRIS. Maira has a related form in Mary. In German usage, Maira has a conventional equivalent in the Greek form Μάιρα.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Maira
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Maira, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Marissa
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls
Marina
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls
Maricia
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls
Ilana
“tree”
>99% girls
Kaylyn
“a beautiful girl from the meadow”
1% boys · 99% girls
Marisol
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls
Dara
“a wise woman” · “from the oak tree”
14% boys · 86% girls
Marnina
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls