Meaning of the nameYara
- Female
- Tupi origin
- Ya-ra
Yara is a spelling of the name Iara, which means “lady of the waters”.
Meaning
“lady of the waters”
Meaning of the name Iara, of which Yara is a spelling.
Source: Wiktionary: Iara · Behind the Name: Iara · Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Iara
- People (2022)
- 43,024
- Rank in Brazil
- #629
- Median age
- 22 years
- 2010 Census
- 25,768
- people
Yara in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Yara, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 2000s (9,480 people).
42,799 women 225 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Yara is most common
States with the highest share of people named Yara in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Roraima 0.034%
- Maranhão 0.033%
- Piauí 0.032%
- Distrito Federal 0.030%
- Acre 0.030%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 10,596 | 0.024% |
| Minas Gerais | 5,123 | 0.025% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 3,144 | 0.020% |
| Ceará | 2,634 | 0.030% |
| Maranhão | 2,221 | 0.033% |
| Paraná | 1,882 | 0.016% |
| Goiás | 1,741 | 0.025% |
| Bahia | 1,622 | 0.012% |
| Pernambuco | 1,581 | 0.018% |
| Pará | 1,569 | 0.019% |
| Amazonas | 1,128 | 0.029% |
| Santa Catarina | 1,066 | 0.014% |
| Piauí | 1,047 | 0.032% |
| Espírito Santo | 962 | 0.025% |
| Distrito Federal | 850 | 0.030% |
| Alagoas | 846 | 0.027% |
| Paraíba | 816 | 0.021% |
| Mato Grosso | 809 | 0.022% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 647 | 0.024% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 593 | 0.018% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 547 | 0.005% |
| Sergipe | 438 | 0.020% |
| Tocantins | 346 | 0.023% |
| Rondônia | 267 | 0.017% |
| Acre | 249 | 0.030% |
| Roraima | 215 | 0.034% |
| Amapá | 85 | 0.012% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
The spelling Yara
Wiktionary records it as an alternative spelling of Iara, and Behind the Name lists it as a Tupi variant, with Y in place of the I.
About the name Iara
Wiktionary records Iara as a borrowing from Nheengatu iiyara, 'lady of the water', from ií, 'water', and yara, 'lord, lady', citing Ávila's dictionary. Behind the Name reads the name in Tupi as 'lady of the water', from y, 'water', and îara, 'lady', and links it to the river nymph of Brazilian folklore. The Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil (Dictionary of Names in Use in Brazil) gives, through José Pedro Machado, the reading 'mother of water', from Câmara Cascudo, and that of other authors, who see only the Tupi yara, 'the one who overcomes', 'the lord'. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 88,394 people named Iara, with a median age of 32; proportionally, it is most common in Rio Grande do Sul.
Other spellings of Iara
| Spelling | People (2022) |
|---|---|
| Iara | 88,394 |
| Yara | 43,024 |
Sources
- Wiktionary: Iara · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
- Behind the Name: Iara · behindthename.com · meaning
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Iara · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · meaning
- Wiktionary: Yara · en.wiktionary.org · spelling
Questions about the name Yara
What does the name Yara mean?
Yara means “lady of the waters”, according to Wiktionary and Behind the Name. This is the meaning of the name Iara, of which Yara is a spelling.
How many people are named Yara in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 43,024 people with the first name Yara, which ranks it number 629 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 2000s.
Is Yara a boy's or a girl's name?
Yara is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 42,799 women and 225 men had this name.
What is the origin of the name Yara?
Yara is a name of Tupi origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Yara most common?
Proportionally, in Roraima: 0.034% of the state's population is named Yara (215 people), according to the 2022 Census.
What are the other spellings of Yara?
Iara. IBGE counts each spelling separately.
Names that also mean water
See all- Ilza♀Origin uncertain: perhaps from Germanic Ilsa, "nymph, water sprite",…23,989 people
- Jordana♀Feminine form of Jordan, from the name of the Jordan River (in…23,143 people
- Danúbia♀Feminine form of Danúbio, the name of the European river10,514 people
- Ondina♀'wave', through the Latin unda, as a form of Undine6,706 people
More names of Tupi origin
See all- Maiara♀'lady of riches', from Old Tupi84,234 people
- Iraci♀From eíra, 'bee, honey', and sy, 'mother'71,097 people
- Iracema♀'lips of honey', according to Alencar67,397 people
- Jussara♀Name of a palm tree (Euterpe edulis), from Tupi îuçara, 'thorny,…63,835 people
- Maíra♀Name of a mythical prophet52,120 people
- Juraci♂♀From Tupi îuru, 'mouth', and çy, 'mother, origin'42,662 people
- Jacira♀Honeymoon34,716 people
- Jaciara♀From îasy, 'moon', and îara, 'lady, lord'28,001 people
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