Moira
Moira was given to 93 girls in 2025, #2,047 among girls’ names; 7,941 Americans have been recorded with it since 1913 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 7,200 Americans named Moira and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (91% of everyone recorded); the median is 31 years old and half are between 16 and 58.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Moira by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Moira mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Moira is “a female given name from Irish.”
Anglicized from Irish Máire, a cognate of Mary. Doublet of Maura.
/ˈmɔɪɹə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Moira?
#2,047 among girls’ names, 2025
Moira fell from #1,638 in 2015 to #2,047 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 73.4 to 57.9 per million.
144 babies in 1963, the peak
Moira peaked in 1963, when 144 girls were given it, #877 among girls’ names. The 93 births of 2025 are 65% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 93 | #2,047 | 57.9 |
| 2024 | 105 | #1,908 | 64.8 |
| 2023 | 114 | #1,790 | 71.0 |
| 2022 | 94 | #2,065 | 57.3 |
| 2021 | 125 | #1,674 | 76.2 |
| 2020 | 110 | #1,802 | 68.0 |
| 2019 | 115 | #1,783 | 68.5 |
| 2018 | 133 | #1,613 | 78.2 |
| 2017 | 132 | #1,642 | 76.5 |
| 2016 | 118 | #1,770 | 66.6 |
Every recorded year (107)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 131 | #1,638 | 73.4 |
| 2014 | 126 | #1,681 | 70.5 |
| 2013 | 103 | #1,935 | 58.7 |
| 2012 | 115 | #1,789 | 65.3 |
| 2011 | 105 | #1,904 | 59.7 |
| 2010 | 97 | #2,054 | 54.6 |
| 2009 | 109 | #1,927 | 59.3 |
| 2008 | 122 | #1,798 | 64.5 |
| 2007 | 112 | #1,875 | 58.3 |
| 2006 | 133 | #1,611 | 70.0 |
| 2005 | 128 | #1,596 | 69.3 |
| 2004 | 124 | #1,589 | 67.5 |
| 2003 | 132 | #1,482 | 72.2 |
| 2002 | 116 | #1,601 | 64.6 |
| 2001 | 111 | #1,646 | 61.6 |
| 2000 | 128 | #1,442 | 70.5 |
| 1999 | 131 | #1,353 | 73.9 |
| 1998 | 123 | #1,399 | 69.6 |
| 1997 | 133 | #1,309 | 76.4 |
| 1996 | 110 | #1,487 | 62.7 |
| 1995 | 124 | #1,332 | 70.5 |
| 1994 | 91 | #1,653 | 51.0 |
| 1993 | 82 | #1,788 | 45.3 |
| 1992 | 75 | #1,883 | 40.7 |
| 1991 | 79 | #1,805 | 42.1 |
| 1990 | 62 | #2,115 | 32.7 |
| 1989 | 51 | #2,324 | 27.7 |
| 1988 | 73 | #1,747 | 41.0 |
| 1987 | 60 | #1,908 | 34.5 |
| 1986 | 59 | #1,902 | 34.4 |
| 1985 | 58 | #1,918 | 33.7 |
| 1984 | 59 | #1,825 | 35.0 |
| 1983 | 71 | #1,577 | 42.5 |
| 1982 | 80 | #1,503 | 47.2 |
| 1981 | 73 | #1,610 | 43.8 |
| 1980 | 70 | #1,653 | 42.2 |
| 1979 | 69 | #1,638 | 43.0 |
| 1978 | 61 | #1,720 | 39.8 |
| 1977 | 70 | #1,552 | 45.7 |
| 1976 | 65 | #1,558 | 44.4 |
| 1975 | 54 | #1,746 | 37.0 |
| 1974 | 59 | #1,610 | 40.2 |
| 1973 | 67 | #1,447 | 45.9 |
| 1972 | 74 | #1,360 | 48.6 |
| 1971 | 86 | #1,286 | 51.7 |
| 1970 | 74 | #1,416 | 42.3 |
| 1969 | 94 | #1,149 | 55.7 |
| 1968 | 111 | #997 | 67.7 |
| 1967 | 97 | #1,057 | 58.8 |
| 1966 | 110 | #981 | 65.0 |
| 1965 | 143 | #834 | 81.0 |
| 1964 | 143 | #867 | 75.5 |
| 1963 | 144 | #877 | 74.7 |
| 1962 | 120 | #977 | 61.0 |
| 1961 | 113 | #1,026 | 56.0 |
| 1960 | 124 | #962 | 61.3 |
| 1959 | 105 | #1,042 | 51.9 |
| 1958 | 126 | #918 | 62.6 |
| 1957 | 108 | #1,006 | 52.8 |
| 1956 | 92 | #1,071 | 45.8 |
| 1955 | 102 | #991 | 52.2 |
| 1954 | 91 | #1,030 | 46.9 |
| 1953 | 80 | #1,080 | 42.5 |
| 1952 | 73 | #1,102 | 39.4 |
| 1951 | 66 | #1,155 | 36.6 |
| 1950 | 38 | #1,518 | 22.2 |
| 1949 | 44 | #1,400 | 25.7 |
| 1948 | 41 | #1,450 | 24.1 |
| 1947 | 32 | #1,711 | 18.1 |
| 1946 | 20 | #2,135 | 12.7 |
| 1945 | 15 | #2,308 | 11.5 |
| 1944 | 18 | #2,071 | 13.6 |
| 1943 | 17 | #2,212 | 12.2 |
| 1942 | 29 | #1,549 | 21.5 |
| 1941 | 20 | #1,862 | 16.6 |
| 1940 | 20 | #1,828 | 17.5 |
| 1939 | 22 | #1,668 | 20.1 |
| 1938 | 12 | #2,532 | 10.9 |
| 1937 | 24 | #1,567 | 22.6 |
| 1936 | 14 | #2,231 | 13.5 |
| 1935 | 19 | #1,825 | 18.1 |
| 1934 | 19 | #1,817 | 18.2 |
| 1933 | 9 | #3,050 | 8.9 |
| 1932 | 6 | #4,263 | 5.6 |
| 1931 | 12 | #2,531 | 11.3 |
| 1930 | 14 | #2,385 | 12.4 |
| 1929 | 11 | #2,865 | 9.9 |
| 1928 | 8 | #3,657 | 6.9 |
| 1927 | 8 | #3,770 | 6.7 |
| 1926 | 8 | #3,794 | 6.7 |
| 1925 | 8 | #3,923 | 6.6 |
| 1924 | 5 | #5,635 | 4.0 |
| 1923 | 6 | #4,795 | 5.0 |
| 1922 | 7 | #4,312 | 5.8 |
| 1921 | 8 | #3,917 | 6.5 |
| 1916 | 6 | #4,253 | 5.7 |
| 1913 | 5 | #3,540 | 8.0 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Moira a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Moira has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 107 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Moira: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Moira, and how old are they?
7,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 91% of the 7,941 Americans ever recorded as Moira. The median Moira alive today is 31 years old; half are between 16 and 58.
The 2020 Census counted 7,659 people named Moira (7,643 women and girls, 16 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,788 born in the U.S. The Census count is 13% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 96 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,340 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,200 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,180 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,900 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,490 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Moira born?
The states with the most babies named Moira are New York, California and Illinois, with 47% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 893 | #1,994 | 1.5× |
| California | 649 | #2,046 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 485 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 476 | #1,548 | 1.2× |
| Massachusetts | 389 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Ohio | 253 | #1,633 | 0.7× |
| New Jersey | 225 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Texas | 165 | #3,189 | 0.3× |
| Washington | 134 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 133 | not ranked | 0.4× |
Where Moira is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Moira is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1913 it was given 1.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Moira with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 9,901 babies since 1880, Moira is the most given (80% of them). In 2025 it was given to 93 of their 121 babies (77%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Moira
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Moira and names like it
- Compare Moira and MoraBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sMoira peaked in 1963.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Moira since 1910.
- Irish namesWiktionary’s origin for Moira: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1963The year the most babies were named Moira.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Moira alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with MMost given first.