Kiara

Kiara is a name with several parents: the Italian Chiara (clear, bright), the Irish Ciara (dark-haired), and the Swahili kiara, sometimes translated as first light or precious gift. Disney gave it a boost in 1998 as the name of Simba's daughter in The Lion King II, and the charts responded — Kiara has sat inside the U.S. top 300 almost every year since. It also echoes Spanish and Hindi naming traditions, which is part of its easy cross-cultural travel. Two syllables, a bright open-A center, no hard edges. Kiara is luminous, confident, and pleasantly unplaceable.