Kira

ORIGIN OF Kira

Kira or Kyra is a feminine proper name of Persian origin. It is considered as the feminine form of the masculine name Cyrus, which could possess different meanings.

Although also the original Persian name, “Kûrush”, could mean “clairvoyant or far-sighted”, on the other hand, it would be related to the Persian word “khur”, which means “Sun”.

According to anthroponymic studies, it could also be related to the Greek term “kyrios” or “Kyros” which means “Lord”, in this sense Kira could be used as the feminine form of Cyril.

This is a name that also has some importance and meaning in cultures such as Russian, Irish and Japanese, where the name is associated with “shining”, “brightness” or “clarity”. Kira thus results in a variant of the name in English.

In Japanese, the name, Latinized as Kira, has nothing to do at least etymologically. It is a common name in Japan; but “Kira” also means “bright” or “shining”.

In the Russian language, however, Kira means “cheerful”. Similarly, Kira is the English translation of the Irish name “Ciara” which is pronounced similarly and means “Clairvoyant”.

CURIOSITIES OF Kira

There is a great misunderstanding about this name, which in English-speaking countries has the meaning of “murderer” in Japanese (like “Killer” in English). What causes this error is the pronunciation that is very similar between the two words, since in Japanese there is no distinction between the sound of, for example, the “ere” and the “ele”.