Myra
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Meaning
an English spelling some families borrow for Meera (Sanskrit mīra, "sea, ocean"); as an English name, a 17th-century literary coinage
The story
Myra is a poet's invention that outgrew its inventor: the seventeenth-century English poet Fulke Greville coined it, Behind the Name suggests from Latin myrra, myrrh, unless he simply rearranged the letters of Mary. Americans took to it early and hard: nearly nine thousand girls in the 1940s and 10,378 in the 1950s alone, then the long vintage slide to about 2,450 in the 2000s, and then the turn every revival watcher knows: 4,594 girls in the 2010s, with about 3,000 so far this decade. Some Indian American families reach the same four letters from the other direction, as an English-friendly spelling of Meera, Sanskrit mira, sea, ocean, the name of the sixteenth-century Indian princess who devoted her life to Krishna. A literary coinage on one side, an ancient devotion on the other, and between them a name having its second American century.
How popular is Myra around the world?
In the United States, 2,971 babies were named Myra between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 13 girls were registered as Myra in 2017.
Myra is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, England and Wales, France, Austria, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 7,300
In the United States, 2,971 babies were named Myra between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Myra peaked in the 1890s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 1,4002017
In South Australia, 13 girls were registered as Myra in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 2,100
In New Zealand, 27 girls named Myra were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 2,700
In Canada, 138 girls named Myra were born in 2024, the 210th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
1 in 5,400
In Ireland, 10 girls named Myra were born in 2025, the 381st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 6,800
In England and Wales, 86 girls named Myra were born in 2025, the 463rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 12,000
In France, about 55 girls named Myra were born in 2025, the 723rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Myra was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Spain
1 in 490,000
In Spain, 92 residents are named Myra, ranked 8,358th among women, with a mean age of 48.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2019
Myra is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 67 people in Brazil were named Myra, ranked 54,512th, with a median age of 30.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 1950
Myra is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Poland
last on record 2021
Myra is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Scotland
last on record 2023
Myra is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Mexico City and Puerto Rico: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
Keep exploring
Indian baby names · Indian American baby names · Short names
The Myra deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Myra truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Myra fits with your family’s names and surname.
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