Given name · also Irish Gaelic
Moira
“share”
Moira is used as a given name. Moira is connected with Mary.
Original IrishMáire
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Irish Gaelic.
How it developed
Moira is used as a form of Mary.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Moira through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 7,941
- 0 boys · 7,941 girls
- Most popular year
- 1963
- 144 babies
- 2025
- 93
- #2,047 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −13%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 93 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,047 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 12.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 144 in 1963. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (10). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,659 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Moira’s family of names
In English usage, Moira has a diminutive in Mo. In English usage, Moira shares an earlier linguistic root with Maura. Moira is a form of Mary.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Moira has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 7
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.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Moira
- Moira KellyAmerican actress (b. 1968)
- Moira Listeractress (1923-2007)
- Moira ShearerBritish ballerina and actress (1926–2006)
- Moira Walley-BeckettCanadian-American television actress, producer and writerborn 2000
- Moira AbernethySouth African swimmerborn 1939
- Moira HarrisAmerican actressborn 1954
- Moira DunbarScottish-Canadian glaciologist and Arctic ice researcher (1918-1999)
- Moira de VilliersNew Zealand judokaborn 1990
- Moira Dela TorreFilipina singer-songwriter (born 1993)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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