Maira

Meaning of Maira

Carried on a soft Iberian breeze and bathed in Mediterranean sunlight, the feminine appellation Maira (pronounced MY-rah or, in anglophone contexts, the near-cognate MY-ruh) traces a shimmering lineage through several tongues at once. Etymologists locate its deepest roots in classical Greek, where Μαίρα evoked the image of a “gleaming” or “sparkling” presence—an epithet later woven into myth as the faithful hound of Erigone, forever guiding the lost toward home. In Latin America the name was lovingly folded into Spanish as a lyrical cousin of María, yet it retained a timbre all its own, whispering of mar and aire, sea and air. Arabic tradition adds another luminous strand, reading Maira as “moonlight” or “swift glimmer,” a semantic current that reinforces the Hellenic idea of brightness. Across the United States the name has maintained a quiet but steadfast course, appearing year after year in national records like a slender silver ribbon that never snaps, its modest ranks testifying to a preference for understated elegance over passing fashion. Thus, to bestow Maira upon a daughter is to gift her a portable constellation: a name that glows with classical erudition, resonates with Latin warmth, and promises, in every culture it touches, a life lit by gentle radiance and steady guidance.