Amira sounds formal and friendly at the same time. It is vowel-heavy and soft, so it sits comfortably beside Aria, Amara, and Aurora, and there is real history behind the sound: in Arabic it is the feminine form of amir, the word that gives us emir.
The name has a second life in Hebrew, where the same spelling points to the top of a tree and to speech rather than to royalty. That is why Amira turns up in Muslim and Jewish families alike, and why it moves easily between Cairo, Sarajevo, and New York, with almost everyone saying it right the first time.
Verdict: Amira is a strong pick for a baby born in 2026. You get the princess meaning of Sarah or Sadie with a more international sound, almost everyone says it correctly on the first try, and at 132nd for U.S. girls it is familiar without being on every class list.
Amira Overview
- Meaning: In Arabic, Amira means princess, high-born girl, or noble lady. In Hebrew, the same spelling means treetop or crown, and it also carries the sense of speech or saying.
- Gender: Amira is a girls’ name, the feminine form of the Arabic boys’ name Amir.
- Origin: Arabic, from amir (leader, commander, chief) and the three-letter root a-m-r, to command. It is a traditional choice in Muslim families and a long-standing name in Hebrew-speaking ones.
- Pronunciation: aa-MEE-rah in American English and in Arabic, with a slightly flatter aa-MAEY-raa in some British accents.
- Popularity: Amira ranked 132nd among U.S. girls in 2025, with 2,168 born that year, and half of everyone ever recorded with the name was born after 2017.
- Nicknames: Mira, Mia, Amy, Mimi, Ara, Ria, Miri.
- Variations: Ameera, Amirah, Emira, Amyra, Ameira.
- Namesakes: Amira Willighagen, Dutch soprano. Amira Hass, Israeli journalist. Amira Dotan, the first woman to reach brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces. Amira Medunjanin, Bosnian sevdah singer.
What Does Amira Mean?
Amira means princess, high-born girl, or noble lady in Arabic. It is the feminine form of amir, the title carried by commanders and governors, so the sense is closer to a woman with authority than a girl in a tiara.
The name reads differently in two other languages:
- Hebrew: in Hebrew, spelled the same way, the name means treetop or crown. A second sense comes from the verb amar, to say, which gives Amira the meaning of speech, a saying, or a spoken word.
- Swahili: the name is also used in Swahili-speaking communities, which draw a large share of their names from Arabic.
So one name can suggest command in one language and eloquence in another. Parents who like a name with a story rather than a single dictionary line tend to land here.
Where Does the Name Amira Come From?
Amira comes from Arabic, where it is the feminine form of Amir, prince or commander, and both names trace back to the three-letter root a-m-r, to command. That root also produced emir, the title used for military commanders and provincial governors long before either name became common for babies.
As a traditional Islamic girls’ name, it has centuries of use across the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans, and South and Southeast Asia. Migration carried it into Western Europe and North America in the twentieth century, which is roughly when it starts to appear in U.S. birth records.
Hebrew arrived at a similar-sounding name by a completely separate route, from a word for treetop and from the verb to say. The two Amiras are not borrowed from each other; they are two Semitic languages building on their own roots and landing on the same sound, which is part of why the name feels at home in so many communities.
How Popular is the Name Amira?
Amira ranked 132nd among U.S. girls in 2025, and the 2,168 girls given the name that year were the most in any year on record (1). That works out to about one girl in every 741 born.
The shape of the curve matters more than any single rank. Amira first appears in the federal records in 1963, stayed quiet for decades, then climbed steadily through the 2000s and 2010s to its best showing of 131st in 2023. Across 60 recorded years, 25,609 American girls have been given the name, and half of them were born after 2017. In other words, almost all of the name’s use is recent.
For a parent choosing today, that curve says two useful things. The name will not sound dated, because it has no mid-century peak to sound dated from. And it is still rising, so a girl named Amira now is more likely to meet another Amira than a girl born ten years ago was, though at 132nd it is nowhere near the crowding of a top 20 name.
Which Names Rose Alongside Amira?
Elianna, Rory, and Kaia followed almost the same climb as Amira, and those three are the lines plotted below. We compared Amira against the other girls’ names of the last 45 years of birth data, and these are the ones whose year-by-year trajectory tracked it most closely.
Elianna and Rory both reached their best ranks in 2025, at 218th and 230th, and both are still rising. Kaia peaked slightly earlier, at 180th in 2024, and sits at 193rd in 2025. Three more names moved with Amira without making the chart: Lucia, ranked 83rd in 2025; Eliana, ranked 10th; and Aurelia, ranked 290th. All three are rising as well.
This is our own analysis of public birth data, not an official list, and it is about timing rather than sound. A family drawn to Amira is usually weighing names with the same feel and the same moment, which is exactly why this group is useful for sibling sets.
How Do I Pronounce Amira?
The standard pronunciation is aa-MEE-rah, with the stress on the middle syllable, in American English and in Arabic. It rhymes with Shakira.
Some British speakers flatten the middle vowel toward aa-MAEY-raa, closer to Almira, but the MEE version is what you will hear almost everywhere. Arabic speakers roll the r lightly; English speakers do not, and neither version will strike anyone as wrong.
Is Amira a Boy or Girl Name?
Amira is a girls’ name in practice and in the data. It takes the feminine -a ending on the masculine name Amir, and the U.S. records show almost no boys carrying it: five boys were recorded in 2024, and those five are the entire male total in the federal data.
If you love the sound and are expecting a boy, Amir is the direct masculine equivalent and is used far more widely.
What Are the Variations of Amira?
Ameera, Amirah, Emira, Amyra, and Ameira are the spellings you will run into most. They reflect the different alphabets and accents the name has passed through rather than different meanings.
- Ameera: (Arabic) A phonetic spelling that protects the long E sound in English.
- Amirah: (Arabic) The final h reflects the Arabic ta marbuta and gives the name a softer finish.
- Emira: (Bosnian and Turkish) The Balkan and Turkish form, matching the local vowel.
- Amyra: (English and Indian) A modern respelling that keeps the sound and changes the look.
- Ameira: (Hebrew) Often used where the speech meaning is the one intended.
What Are the Best Nicknames for Amira?
Mira, Mia, and Amy are the nicknames families reach for first, and all three work from toddlerhood through adulthood. Amira is short enough to use in full, so a nickname here is a choice rather than a necessity.
- Mira: The most natural short form, and a full name in its own right in Slavic languages.
- Mia: Sweet, modern, and instantly familiar to everyone.
- Amy: The classic Anglicized option, useful if the family wants something very plain.
- Mimi: Playful and vintage, the one most likely to stick as a family nickname.
- Ara: Rarer, with a celestial ring to it.
- Ria: Short, quick, and energetic.
- Miri: An uncommon option that leans on the Hebrew side of the name.
What Names Are Similar to Amira?
Amara, Samira, Layla, Zara, and Amina are the closest matches in sound and feel, and each one keeps the soft consonants and open vowels that make Amira easy to say.
- Amara: One consonant away from Amira, with Latin (everlasting) and Igbo (grace) roots instead of Arabic ones.
- Samira: The same rhythm with an S in front; in Arabic it means companion in evening conversation.
- Layla: Another Arabic name that crossed into English use and stayed.
- Soraya: Persian, tied to the Pleiades star cluster, with the same royal association.
- Zara: Shorter and punchier, with the same princess sense in its Arabic line.
- Alina: Soft and international, easy to say in most European languages.
- Amina: Arabic for trustworthy or faithful, and the closest match if you want the A-M sound without the princess meaning.
- Elara: A rarer option with the same three-syllable, vowel-first rhythm.
Middle Names for Amira
Finding the right middle name is mostly about rhythm. Amira is three syllables and ends on an ah sound, so it pairs well with short, grounded names and with longer French-flavored ones.
Classic & Timeless Pairings
Modern & Punchy Pairings
Elegant & Lyrical Pairings
Sibling Names for Amira
A sibset around Amira works best with names that are equally easy to say across languages. The names that rose alongside it, listed above, are a good starting point for a sister.
For a Brother
- Amir: The masculine counterpart, though many families find it too close for a sibling.
- Zain: Arabic for beauty or grace, short and current.
- Omar: A recognizable classic meaning flourishing or long-lived.
- Elias: Greek and Hebrew, and a good match for Amira’s soft vowels.
- Caleb: Hebrew, and grounded enough to balance the flow of Amira.
- Kai: Short, modern, and used in several unrelated languages.
For a Sister
- Nadia: Meaning hope, with the same cross-border familiarity.
- Yasmin: The original form of Jasmine, from the flower.
- Laila: Matches the feminine ending and the Arabic roots.
- Sofia: Greek, widely used, and an easy pairing.
- Elena: Same open vowels, same international reach.
- Kaia: One of the names that climbed alongside Amira, and short next to it.
Famous People Named Amira
- Amira Willighagen: Dutch soprano, born in 2004, who won the sixth season of Holland’s Got Talent in 2013 at the age of nine with Puccini arias. Asked how she started, she said, “My brother Vincent plays violin, and I also wanted to do something, so I thought, I’m going to sing” (2).
- Amira Casar: French actress born in 1971 who has appeared in more than 50 films, with a Cesar nomination for Most Promising Actress for La Verite si je mens! in 1997.
- Amira Hass: Israeli journalist and author, awarded the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in 2003 (3).
- Amira Dotan: Israeli officer and politician who in 1986 became the first woman in the Israel Defense Forces to reach the rank of brigadier general, and later served in the Knesset (4).
- Amira Medunjanin: Bosnian singer from Sarajevo, known internationally for the sevdah tradition since her debut album Rosa in 2005.
Amira in Pop Culture
- Amira Masood: A character in the long-running BBC soap opera EastEnders.
- Amira: The title character of the 2021 drama film Amira.
- Amira: The debut album by soprano Amira Willighagen, released after her talent show win.
FAQs About the Name Amira
Here are the questions parents ask most often about Amira, from its Quranic standing to how it differs from Amara.
