Moira

MOY-rah

Irish, variation of Mary

"bitter; beloved; drop of the sea"

Moira Origin and Meaning

The name Moira is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "bitter; beloved; drop of the sea".

Well-established Irish and Scottish name that has never really caught on across the pond. Remembered by an older generation as the beautiful red-haired ballerina in the film The Red Shoes, Moira Shearer.

Moira Rank in US Top 1000

# 994 in the US

Moira Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 612 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Moira

• 612 Nameberry 2025
• 797 Unique 2023

20 Names Similar to Moira

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Moira.

• Siobhan
• Brigid
• Eleonora
• Odelia
• Lenora
• Annora
• Adela
• Bronwen
• Sabine
• Corinna
• Iona
• Lucienne
• Adelia
• Adélaïde
• Eloisa
• Sabina
• Anais
• Evelina
• Esmé
• Eveline

Famous People Named Moira

• Moira Kelly American actress
• Moira Harris American actress
• Moira Crone American novelist
• Moira Gunn American radio presenter
• Moira Forbes journalist, member of Forbes family
• Moira Lister de Gachassin Lafite, Vicomtesse d’Orthez, South African,British actress
• Moira Shearer (King) Lady Kennedy, British ballerina
• Moira Clare Ruby Stuart British TV presenter
• Moira Shannon Quirk English voice actress
• Moira Walley Beckett, Canadian writer
• Moira Buffini English playwright and screenwriter
• Moira Brooker English actress
• Moira McLean Australian TV presenter
• Moira Redmond English actress
• Moira Anderson Scottish singer
• Moira Brown Canadian whale researcher
• Moira Cameron first woman Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London, England

The name Moira in Pop Culture

• Moira O'Hara character on TV's "American Horror Story"
• Moira Nicholson character from Agatha Christie's "The Boomerang Clue"
• Moira Davidson character in movie "On the Beach"
• Moira Byrne character in "Greener Grass," by Caroline Pignat
• Moira Kennedy character in movie "Strange Hearts"
• Moira character on TV's "Smash"
• Moira Banning character in movie "Hook"
• Moira Kinross MacTaggert character in the X,Men movie series
• Moira character in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"
• Moira Theirin character in Dragon Age video game series
• Moira Queen character on TV's "Arrow"
• Moira/Max Sweeney character on TV's "The L Word"
• Moira Thaurissan dwarf in the Warcraft series
• Moira Brandon character in Marvel Comics
• Moira Brown character in Fallout 3
• Moira Rose character on TV series Schitt's Creek
• Moira O'Deorain character in Overwatch
• Moira messenger of the Eddisian gods in Megan Whalen Turner's "Queen's Thief" series
• Wendy Moira Angela Darling character in "Peter Pan"