Ciara
One of Irish and Gaelic origin meaning "little dark one" or "dark-haired".
Name Census estimates that about 33,835 living Americans carry the first name Ciara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ciara today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ciara births was 2005 (2,325 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ciara. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
34K
~ 1 in 10,130 Americans
Peak year
2005
2,325 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
1989 SSA rank
#1,361
Tracked since 1972
Gender
Gender distribution for Ciara
Out of the 34,725 babies given the name Ciara since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Ciara as a male name
- Ranked #6,334 in 1989
- 7 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1989 (7 births)
Ciara as a female name
- Ranked #1,361 in 2024
- 167 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (2,325 births)
Popularity
Ciara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ciara from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 13,068 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ciara by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ciara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ciaras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Ciara, while Vermont, Wyoming, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 645 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ciara
The name Ciara has its roots in the Irish Gaelic language and is derived from the word "ciar," meaning "black" or "dark." It is believed to have originated as a descriptive name, possibly referring to someone with dark hair or complexion.
In medieval Ireland, Ciara was a common name among the Celtic population. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 7th century, when a Saint Ciara (also spelled Cera or Cyra) lived in County Tipperary, Ireland. She is venerated as the patron saint of breastfeeding mothers.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ciara was also found in various Irish annals and manuscripts, indicating its widespread use among the Irish nobility and religious orders. For example, the Annals of Ulster mention a Ciara ingen Duib in the year 923 AD.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ciara. One of the earliest was Ciara ingen Duinnchuan (c. 828 – 891), an Irish princess and abbess who founded the monastery of Killeedy in County Limerick. Another was Ciara ingen Ruaidri (c. 1050 – 1112), a poet and scholar who lived during the reign of the High King of Ireland, Muirchertach Ua Briain.
In more recent times, the name Ciara gained popularity in the late 20th century, particularly in the United States and Ireland. One of the most famous modern-day bearers of the name is American singer and songwriter Ciara Princess Harris (born in 1985), known professionally as Ciara.
Other notable individuals named Ciara include Irish actress Ciara O'Callaghan (born in 1977), British journalist Ciara Hunt (born in 1982), and Irish swimmer Ciara Carragher (born in 1995), who represented Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
While the name Ciara has its origins in Irish Gaelic, it has transcended cultural boundaries and is now found in various parts of the world, albeit with variations in spelling and pronunciation.
People
Ciara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ciara as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ciara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ciara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 33,835 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ciara going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 10,130 US residents.
Is Ciara a common name?
We classify Ciara as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 34,725 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ciara most popular?
The single biggest year for Ciara was 2005, when 2,325 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ciara is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ciara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ciara in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.