Girl's name
Yara
Say it YAR-uh
Portuguese origin mistress of water
2 syllables
Where Yara is loved, common and rare
Loved in the Netherlands. Common across Switzerland and two more places. Rare in Catalonia, four German cities, France and 11 more places.
1 in 1,627 girls born in Scotland in 2025
The Netherlands 8thSwitzerland 25thCatalonia 108th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 21 of the 40 official lists, among them the Netherlands (8th), Switzerland (25th) and Catalonia (108th).
Show all 21 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Netherlands | 8th 2025 | 499 | about 1 in 122 |
| Switzerland | 25th 2025 | 162 | 1 in 210 |
| Catalonia region | 108th 2025 | 39 | 1 in 494 |
| Berlin city | 148th 2023 | 22 | about 1 in 659 |
| Munich city | 156th 2025 | 8 | about 1 in 524 |
| France | 176th 2025 | 315 | 1 in 910 |
| Ontario province | 178th 2024 | 62 | about 1 in 878 |
| Cologne city | 183rd 2023 | 6 | about 1 in 1,024 |
| Quebec province | 191st 2025 | 30 | about 1 in 867 |
| Austria | 200th 2025 | 31 | 1 in 1,152 |
| Italy | 205th 2024 | 97 | 1 in 1,847 |
| Sweden | 234th 2025 | 34 | about 1 in 1,181 |
| British Columbia province | 268th 2023 | 12 | about 1 in 997 |
| Israel יארא | 287th 2024 | 52 | about 1 in 1,509 |
| Scotland | 301st 2025 | 11 | 1 in 1,627 |
| England and Wales | 311th 2025 | 140 | 1 in 1,809 |
| Norway | 364th 2025 | 8 | 1 in 2,724 |
| Ireland | 608th 2025 | 5 | 1 in 4,225 |
| Rostock city | 92nd 2025 | 2 | about 1 in 492 |
| Bonn city | 99th 2025 | 6 | about 1 in 502 |
| Leipzig city | 128th 2025 | 4 | about 1 in 656 |
Rare, below the listed names: Northern Ireland, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Israel publishes names in Hebrew script. The Latin spelling shown is our transliteration; the published form is shown beside it.
Sources: Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel) (Israel); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig). How we count, and every source
About the name
Yara reaches English through Portuguese, where it is a spelling of Iara. Iara comes from the Nheengatu iiyara, 'mistress of water', formed from i, 'water', and yara, 'lord' or 'lady'. In Brazilian mythology Iara is a water figure, so the name carries a strong sense of rivers and legend.
Read the restShow less
It has two syllables, YAR-uh, with the stress on the first and a soft, flowing sound. Iara is the closest alternative form.
Yara is enjoying a real rise. It is a top-10 name in the Netherlands and very popular in Switzerland, and it is also used in Catalonia, Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. It is rising in most of the places where it appears and falling in none, and in France it reached its highest point in 2025, which marks it as very much a name of the present.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- YAR-uh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
mistress of water
- Origin
- Portuguese
- Other spellings
- Iara
Etymology
Portuguese Yara is a spelling of Iara, from Nheengatu iiyara 'mistress of water' (i 'water' + yara 'lord/lady'); also a water figure of Brazilian mythology.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 15 of 20 regions, falling in none.
Show the yearsShow less
Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 622 | 604 | 574 | 491 | 471 | 398 | 374 | 363 | 341 | 311 |
| Scotland | 585 | 765 | 471 | 558 | 470 | 439 | 333 | 301 | ||
| Ireland | 750 | 629 | 621 | 700 | 586 | 747 | 625 | 504 | 608 | |
| Ontario | 534 | 365 | 386 | 309 | 297 | 148 | 203 | 235 | 178 | |
| British Columbia | 578 | 518 | 586 | 390 | 398 | 264 | 268 | |||
| Quebec | 301 | 445 | 284 | 278 | 239 | 343 | 276 | 296 | 218 | 191 |
| France | 600 | 569 | 514 | 478 | 494 | 470 | 359 | 344 | 237 | 176 |
| The Netherlands | 20 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |
| Austria | 274 | 370 | 373 | 262 | 211 | 235 | 171 | 251 | 263 | 200 |
| Switzerland | 49 | 48 | 42 | 47 | 37 | 34 | 26 | 21 | 24 | 25 |
| Berlin | 175 | 173 | 176 | 222 | 168 | 132 | 114 | 148 | ||
| Munich | 180 | 149 | 137 | 135 | 151 | 156 | ||||
| Cologne | 470 | 288 | 349 | 273 | 251 | 122 | 94 | 183 | ||
| Bonn | 174 | 365 | 168 | 371 | 117 | 264 | 139 | 176 | 168 | 99 |
| Leipzig | 375 | 257 | 131 | 243 | 191 | 132 | 157 | 130 | 105 | 128 |
| Rostock | 283 | 202 | 102 | 187 | 105 | 92 | ||||
| Norway | 364 | |||||||||
| Sweden | 384 | 321 | 345 | 348 | 297 | 332 | 365 | 352 | 244 | 234 |
| Catalonia | 334 | 243 | 206 | 215 | 215 | 197 | 119 | 202 | 122 | 108 |
| Italy | 337 | 285 | 300 | 272 | 269 | 205 | ||||
| Israel | 282 | 317 | 333 | 261 | 284 | 283 | 310 | 321 | 287 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 311 | 140 | 55.3 |
| 2024 | 341 | 127 | 49.2 |
| 2023 | 363 | 115 | 44.8 |
| 2022 | 374 | 114 | 43.3 |
| 2021 | 398 | 112 | 40.9 |
| 2020 | 471 | 86 | 32.0 |
| 2019 | 491 | 84 | 30.0 |
| 2018 | 574 | 72 | 25.0 |
| 2017 | 604 | 70 | 23.4 |
| 2016 | 622 | 68 | 22.1 |
| 2015 | 909 | 40 | 13.0 |
| 2014 | 794 | 49 | 16.0 |
| 2013 | 684 | 58 | 18.8 |
| 2012 | 614 | 68 | 21.1 |
| 2011 | 652 | 61 | 19.0 |
| 2010 | 643 | 59 | 18.4 |
| 2009 | 679 | 54 | 17.2 |
| 2008 | 676 | 54 | 17.1 |
| 2007 | 623 | 56 | 18.3 |
| 2006 | 1243 | 21 | 7.0 |
| 2005 | 1082 | 23 | 8.0 |
| 2004 | 1072 | 22 | 7.7 |
| 2003 | 1628 | 12 | 4.3 |
| 2002 | 1442 | 13 | 4.9 |
| 2001 | 1728 | 10 | 3.7 |
| 2000 | 1250 | 15 | 5.5 |
| 1999 | 2189 | 7 | 2.5 |
| 1998 | 2701 | 5 | 1.7 |
| 1997 | 1958 | 8 | 2.7 |
| 1996 | 3126 | 4 | 1.4 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Yara in France since 1925 were born in or after 2019. First recorded in 1980. Her peak year there: 2025, at 109.8 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Yara per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Yara
1 in 636 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Yara.
1 in 924 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Yara.
1 in 4,225 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Yara.
1 in 581 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Yara.
1 in 473 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Yara.
1 in 778 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Yara.
1 in 1,214 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Yara.
1 in 852 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Yara.
1 in 1,457 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Yara.
1 in 1,195 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Yara.
Middle names for Yara
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Yara Grace
2-1 beats · initials YG
Changes the beat after Yara: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Yara Olivia
2-4 beats · initials YO · Yara slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Yara: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Yara slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Yara Sophia
2-3 beats · initials YS
Changes the beat after Yara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Yara Maria
2-3 beats · initials YM
Changes the beat after Yara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Yara Rose
2-1 beats · initials YR
Changes the beat after Yara: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Yara Emily
2-3 beats · initials YE · Yara slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Yara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Yara slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Yara Julia
2-3 beats · initials YJ
Changes the beat after Yara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Yara Miriam
2-3 beats · initials YM
Changes the beat after Yara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Yara
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 1,457 in Northern Ireland
95% alike: moves with Yara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,195 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Yara across countries and decades.
1 in 617 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Yara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,625 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Yara across countries and decades.
1 in 587 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Yara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,554 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Yara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,583 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Yara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,655 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Yara across countries and decades.
Famous people named Yara
Yara Shahidi, Yara van Kerkhof and Yara Sallam.
Show all 3Show less
-
American actress born 2000
-
Dutch short track speed skater born 1990
-
Egyptian activist born 1985
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Yara
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Yara?
Her best rank is No. 8 in the Netherlands in 2025, about 1 in 122 girls. She is in the published lists of 21 of our 40 regions.
What does Yara mean?
Wiktionary glosses Yara as "mistress of water".
How do you pronounce Yara?
YAR-uh, with 2 syllables.
Is Yara getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 15 of 20 regions, falling in none.
Which sister names go with Yara?
The deck's top five sisters for Yara: Amaya, Noor, Liv, Aisha and Anaya. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.