MEANING & HISTORY
What does Zaira mean?
Zaira is the Italian and Spanish form of Zaïre, the heroine’s name in Voltaire’s play of 1732. Vincenzo Bellini used Zaira for his operatic adaptation in 1829.
This is a specifically documented literary name chain. The exact heroine-name tradition is more secure than a universal princess meaning or an inference from a similarly spelled modern place name.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Spanish
- /ˈθaiɾa/
- [ˈθai̯.ɾa]
- /ˈsaiɾa/
- [ˈsai̯.ɾa]
Zai · ra2 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
SpanishEtymology & source
a female given name
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Zaira
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Zaira Cosico
Filipino ballet dancer
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
1
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Zaira Cosico
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Zaira in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Zaira
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Zara♀Sarah-related form; also associated with Arabic Zahra
- Akira♂♀Bright in 明 or 昭; clear in 亮
- Ira♂♀Watchful in Hebrew, or an Irene-family short form
- Kira♀Name shared by Greek, Russian and Irish-related traditions
- Mira♀Distinct Indian, Slavic and shortened-name traditions
- Moira♀English form of Irish Máire
- Samira♀Feminine evening-conversation companion in the Arabic account
- Tahira♀Pure; virtuous
What rhymes with Zaira?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore Zaira further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q4026211 — Zaira (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Zaira Cosico (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q4026211 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Zaira (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Zaira (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.
- Behind the Name: zaira (opens in a new tab)
Independent onomastic comparison and qualifications to the proposed origin.