Keira is an English spelling of the Irish Ciara, the feminine form of Ciarán, which means "little dark one" or "dark-haired". The actress Keira Knightley carried the spelling to a wide audience with Bend It Like Beckham and the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Keira was outside the top 1000 in 2000, shot up to number 110 in 2006 and has slowly given ground since, standing at number 622 in 2025.