Shaira
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "petite" or "small".
Name Census estimates that about 546 living Americans carry the first name Shaira. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shaira today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaira births was 2017 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaira. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Shaira with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
546
~ 1 in 627,755 Americans
Peak year
2017
37 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,861
Tracked since 1979
Census
Shaira in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 694 people with the first name Shaira, which placed it at #16,301 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
#16,301
National first-name rank
People counted
694
694 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
53.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shaira
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaira is Hispanic at 53.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (30.3%) and Black (8.8%). 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 Shaira 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 Shaira at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino53.9% · 374
- Asian and Pacific Islander30.3% · 210
- Black or African American8.8% · 61
- White4.6% · 32
- Two or more races2.2% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Shaira: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaira from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 173 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Shaira remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shaira 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 Shaira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shairas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Shaira, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaira
The name Shaira is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, with its roots traced back to the Middle East and North Africa. The name is derived from the Arabic word "Shair," which means "poetry" or "verse." This linguistic connection suggests that the name may have been associated with poetic expression or literary prowess in its early usage.
During the medieval period, the name Shaira gained popularity among Arabic-speaking communities, particularly in regions where Islamic culture and literature flourished. It is possible that the name was bestowed upon individuals who demonstrated a talent for poetry or storytelling, as these art forms held significant cultural and religious significance in the Arab world.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some historical accounts suggest that Shaira was used as a personal name among nobility and scholarly circles in the Middle Ages. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 11th and 12th centuries, where it can be found in various historical documents and records from the region.
One notable figure who bore the name Shaira was a 12th-century Arab poet and scholar from Andalusia, Spain. Born in 1135, she was known for her contributions to the rich literary tradition of the Iberian Peninsula during the era of Islamic rule. Her poetry celebrated themes of love, nature, and the human experience, earning her recognition among her contemporaries.
Another historical figure named Shaira was a 13th-century Persian mathematician and astronomer. Born in 1210 in present-day Iran, she made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry and authored several works on celestial mechanics. Her pioneering work in the sciences was remarkable for a woman of her time.
In the 14th century, a renowned Sufi mystic and poet from present-day Turkey bore the name Shaira. Born in 1320, she was revered for her spiritual teachings and her ability to convey profound mystical insights through her poetic verses. Her legacy as a spiritual guide and literary figure endured for generations.
During the 15th century, a prominent Arab scholar and linguist from Egypt named Shaira gained recognition for her expertise in the Arabic language and her contributions to the preservation of classical Arabic literature. Born in 1450, she authored numerous works on grammar, syntax, and literary analysis, leaving a lasting impact on the study of the Arabic language.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Shaira emerged as a celebrated calligrapher and artist in the Ottoman Empire. Born in 1520 in present-day Turkey, her exquisite calligraphic works adorned numerous mosques, palaces, and manuscripts, showcasing her mastery of the art form and her dedication to preserving Islamic artistic traditions.
People
Shaira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaira as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shaira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 546 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaira 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 627,755 US residents.
Is Shaira a common name?
We classify Shaira as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 556 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaira most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaira was 2017, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaira is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shaira in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 694 people with the name Shaira, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,301 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 Shaira 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 Shaira?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shaira appears almost entirely female. Of the 696 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Shaira?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaira is Hispanic at 53.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (30.3%) and Black (8.8%). 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 Shaira most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Shaira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.9% (374 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 Shaira in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shaira a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shaira 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 Shaira still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shaira 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 Shaira 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 Americans are named Shaira?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.