- Origin: Spanish (Latin American)
- Meaning: unknown
- Gender: Female
- First Est. 1940s
The name may be inspired by the Arabic word, جَوْھَرَة (jauhara), meaning, “gem; jewel.” They do look and sound eerily similar. It has also been speculated to be a corruption of the Hebrew female name, Yakira יַקִירָה (precious).
The earliest records I can find stem from Venezuala in the 1940s. Venezuela did experience some Middle Eastern immigration, so it is possible that this name is a modern Spanish corruption of the Arabic female name Juwayriya, which stems from the same above mentioned Arabic word.
It was further popularized in the rest of the Spanish-speaking world by Venezuelan actress, Yajaira Orta (b. 1951) and Venezuelan model, selected Miss Venezuela winner in 1988, Yajaira Vera (b. 1963).
In the United States, Yajaira appeared in the U.S. top 1000 girls’ names between 1989-2001. It never got past the 900s, ranking at its very highest at the #916 spot in 1996. This was the same year a Chilean band of the same was hitting the Spanish-speaking music charts with their eponymous album.
Its alternate form of Yahaira appeared once in the U.S. top 1000 in 2003 and appeared one other time in 2006, peaking at #831 in 2003.
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