My Name is Toi Keira (Toy) (Key-Air-Ah) I'm black Irish. The name is beautiful and it means the same also in Irish, meaning Dark. It amazes me that people will argue over something so simple as to the meaning of a name, if it's pronounced differently, oh well. Ke and Ci are in no way pronounced the same way. Sorry.

Wow. Ok. So as a Keira I can say I am fairly sure there are various versions of this name, but Indigenous Australian, Gaelic/Celt, Persian and Russian are the most known.

There is Ciara, Kira, Keira, Kiera, Kyra, Kirra and other variations in spelling. I will do my best to explain which come from where to my knowledge.

In Australia, our natives say Kira, meaning leaf, or boomerang, also some say white cockatoo or cockatoos crest. The cockatoo has a very interesting place in Dreamings, some saying it is "the first creature to ever die, causing the beginning of a quest to understand mortality, the result being – immortality through rebirth".

 We have a stunning beach here called Kirra beach on the east coast; as well as a town called Mount Keira, near Keiraville, which many say means large lagoon or high mountain.

Akira is a Japanese name, often masculine, meaning bright or clear. Kira Kira in Japanese means glittery or shiny. Kira is not commonly attributed to women in Japanese as a traditional name.

Kira may come from the Sanscript or Hindi male form of Kiran, meaning "beam of light"

In Persian or Egyptian it may translate to "Like Ra" or Key of Ra, hence the pronunciation, Kee *key Ra.

Ки́ра, in Russian, is Kira, from masculine Kir. It can mean "mistress or ruler", and translates to "leader of the people" or the "one the people look to" or "beloved".

There are many divergences between Greek and Russian including Sun, Lady, Bright Lady and Brilliant, or Lady of Light, which tie into many other origins.

Ciara, is often traced back to Gaelic/ Irish/ Celtic heritage meaning dark haired, or dark haired beauty. Saint Kiara was a 7th Century Catholic Irish Virgin often confused with a 6th Century Saint called Cera, whom was no doubt also lovely.

The spelling Kira especially, has been made popular through anime and characters such as Kira (Gelfling of the Podling Village) in Jim Henson's movie The Dark Crystal, Kira (Olivia Newton John) in Xanadu, Kira Hara, mother/daughter Kira Meru & Kira Nerys and Jazdia Dax of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the emerging fan fic from there, as well as actresses Kyra Sedgwick and Keira Knightley.

Keira was a rarer English spelling until recent times due to the I before e rule except after c; which was pointed out to me personally by a school principal many years ago. I pointed out to him that c was indeed a k in many old languages where this name has origins, such as the hieroglyphs of Egypt, and also that a name is what we are given, not a set of grammatical rules.

Regardless; the origins of this name are many and though phonetics and spellings may vary, many meanings seem to meet up regardless.

Name your baby it if you feel it resonates and you like it. Spell it and say it however you may choose. Your call. There is really no right or wrong with names; we are all unique ♡

Please feel free to source your data wherever you see fit, but you may find this is a name of many origins, so I thought I would add to the links from Japanese tattoo sites. ☆.

Also may be spelled Kiera.