Kiari is a modern variant of Kiara, which goes back to the Italian Chiara, from the Latin clara, and means "bright" or "clear"; the short -i ending gives it a fresh, playful sound. Kiara itself became widely known through the lion cub in Disney's The Lion King II. Kiari has climbed sharply from number 9826 in 2015 to number 1892 in 2025, its best rank so far.