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Help[Facts] Re: Origin and pronunciation of Kyra
in reply to a message by Perrine
My first thought is that although I like to combine spellings in popularity charts as much as possible, these names are a perfect example of why that is sometimes not a good idea. There is no way to know how an individual pronounces her name unless she is very well known or you ask her. You cannot simply assume that Kyra has one pronunciation while Kira, Keira, and Kiera have another.
In addition, though Ciara is certainly Irish, you cannot assume that everyone pronounces it the Irish way. In fact, some girls named Ciara and Ciera in the US pronounce their names "see-AR-a" and "see-AIR-a" (and some Kieras are "kee-AIR-a").
Kyra is not an intuitive feminine form of Cyrus for English-speakers. It would make sense, though, that some of the early 20th c. Kyras and Kiras were of Russian descent and in that case it very well could have been seen as a form of Cyrus.
You would need to hear from an Irish person or someone who has done research on name popularity in Ireland to answer the Kyra vs. Ciara/Kiera/Keira question.
In short, I think we are dealing with a group of names that have at least two distinct origins, and the various spellings have become rather arbitrary and do not map clearly to one or the other.
In addition, though Ciara is certainly Irish, you cannot assume that everyone pronounces it the Irish way. In fact, some girls named Ciara and Ciera in the US pronounce their names "see-AR-a" and "see-AIR-a" (and some Kieras are "kee-AIR-a").
Kyra is not an intuitive feminine form of Cyrus for English-speakers. It would make sense, though, that some of the early 20th c. Kyras and Kiras were of Russian descent and in that case it very well could have been seen as a form of Cyrus.
You would need to hear from an Irish person or someone who has done research on name popularity in Ireland to answer the Kyra vs. Ciara/Kiera/Keira question.
In short, I think we are dealing with a group of names that have at least two distinct origins, and the various spellings have become rather arbitrary and do not map clearly to one or the other.
This message was edited 3/7/2022, 8:37 AM
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