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English speaking countries

The name was invented in the 17th century by the poet Fulke Greville for use in his love poems.
He perhaps based it on Latin 'myron' from the Greek (myrrh, onguent - a sweet smelling oil), creating a feminine form of Myron.
It has also been suggested that he simply rearranged the letters of Mary.
He could also, like Shakespeare with the name Miranda, have been thinking of a name which would mean 'admirable', based on the Latin.

Other suggestions relate it to Irish Moyra, or make it a borrowing of the name of a seaport in ancient Lycia.

It came into general use only in the 1830s, frequently as Mira, occasionally as Mirah.