Yara

Yara: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“small butterfly or water lady”
Origin
Arabic
Say it
YAR-uh · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls

This name has multiple origins. In Arabic and Persian usage, Yara is commonly explained as 'small butterfly' or 'friend/helper'; it is also the name of a water being in Brazilian folklore, from Indigenous sources. The origin of this name is not settled among etymologists.

How popular is Yara?

2024158 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Yara in 2024525

2024 rank#578 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 18806,969

Yara is rising: use over the last five years is 2.7× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Yara

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Laylanight · Arabic
  • Lylanight · Arabic
  • Aaliyahexalted, rising · Arabic
  • Amiraprincess; commander · Arabic
  • Lilahnight · Arabic
  • Lilanight · Arabic
  • Nylaattainer; successful · Arabic
  • Zarablooming flower · Arabic

Yara questions

What does the name Yara mean?

Yara means "small butterfly or water lady". It comes from Arabic. This name has multiple origins. In Arabic and Persian usage, Yara is commonly explained as 'small butterfly' or 'friend/helper'; it is also the name of a water being in Brazilian folklore, from Indigenous sources.

Is Yara a boy or girl name?

Yara is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Yara?

525 US babies were named Yara in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Yara?

Yara is usually pronounced YAR-uh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.