Fira
An uncommon feminine name possibly derived from the Greek word "pyr" meaning fire.
Name Census estimates that about 28 living Americans carry the first name Fira. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fira today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fira births was 2017 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fira. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Fira. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
28
~ 1 in 12,241,226 Americans
Peak year
2017
7 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2023 SSA rank
#15,959
Tracked since 2015
Census
Fira in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 322 people with the first name Fira, which placed it at #28,067 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#28,067
National first-name rank
People counted
322
322 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fira
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fira is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Fira described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Fira at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 287
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 9
- Two or more races1.9% · 6
- Black or African American1.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Fira: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fira from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 17 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Fira remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fira 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 Fira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fira
The given name Fira is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, dating back to the Viking era around the 8th to 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old Norse word "fríð," which means "beautiful" or "fair." The name was likely used by the Norse people who inhabited Scandinavia during that time period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fira can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical narratives that document the lives and adventures of Norse settlers in Iceland. In these sagas, Fira is mentioned as the name of a woman known for her beauty and grace.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Fira. One of the most famous was Fira Ólafsdóttir (c. 1180 - 1250), a powerful chieftain and landowner in Iceland during the 13th century. She was renowned for her leadership skills and her role in resolving conflicts among the local clans.
Another notable figure was Fira of Novgorod (c. 1120 - 1190), a Russian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She is credited with commissioning the construction of several churches and supporting the development of religious art and architecture in the city of Novgorod.
In the realm of literature, Fira Benediktsson (1875 - 1938) was an Icelandic poet and writer who made significant contributions to the country's literary tradition. Her works often explored themes of nature, love, and the human experience.
Moving to more recent times, Fira Stout (1922 - 2010) was an American artist known for her abstract expressionist paintings. Her works were exhibited in various galleries and museums across the United States, and she was recognized for her unique style and use of vibrant colors.
Lastly, Fira Basiji (1942 - 2005) was an Iranian actress and filmmaker who played a pivotal role in the development of Iranian cinema. She appeared in numerous films and directed several critically acclaimed movies, earning her a reputation as a pioneering figure in the Iranian film industry.
People
Fira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fira as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 28 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fira 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 12,241,226 US residents.
Is Fira a common name?
We classify Fira as "Very Rare". It ranks above 45.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fira most popular?
The single biggest year for Fira was 2017, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fira is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fira in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 322 people with the name Fira, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,067 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Fira in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Fira?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fira leans strongly female. 314 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Fira?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fira is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Fira most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Fira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (287 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Fira in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fira a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fira 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.
Is Fira still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fira in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Fira can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people share the name Fira?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.