Samira (also spelled Samirah, Sameera, Semira and Sameerah;

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: سميرا ) is a Sanskrit, Arabic, or Persian given name. In

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, Sameera or Samira () is a feminine given-name, meaning "breeze, wind," or "Vāyu, the wind deity". Many anglicize their name to Samīr or Sameer. In Arabic, the feminine name is derived from the

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

''s-m-r'' ("to spend the night in talking"), ultimately meaning "night-companion", "entertaining companion", "the one with lively conversation". The masculine version of this name is Samir. In some Arabic and Persian speaking communities, the name honors

Semiramis Semiramis (; ''Šammīrām'', ''Šamiram'', , ''Samīrāmīs'') was the legendary Lydian- Babylonian wife of Onnes and of Ninus, who succeeded the latter on the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus ...

, a historical figure and Princess, and later queen of Assyria. The name has taken on the common demonym of “princess”. It can also be spelled as Semira.

People

Samira

* Samira Abbassy (born 1965), Iranian-born British painter * Samira bint Abdullah Al-Faisal, Saudi princess and disability advocate *

Samira Ahmed Samira Ahmed (born 15 June 1968) is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster at the BBC, where she presents '' Front Row'' on Radio 4 and '' Newswatch'' on the BBC News channel and BBC One during '' BBC Breakfast'', and regularly present ...

(born 1968), British television reporter * Samira Saleh Ali al-Naimi (1963–2014), Iraqi human rights activist and lawyer * Samira Alikhanzadeh (born 1967), Iranian artist and painter * Samira Alkhatib (1945–2021), Palestinian poet and writer * Samira Asghari (born 1994), Afghan member of the International Olympic Committee *

Samira Awad Samira Mohamad Awad (; born 30 June 2000) is a Lebanese footballer who plays as a winger. Club career Awad joined Safa in 2019; she scored 13 goals and made 11 assists in 14 games in the 2019–20 season. International career On 18 Jul ...

(born 2000), Lebanese footballer *

Samira Bawumia Samira Bawumia (née Ramadan) (born 20 August 1980) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the Second Lady of Ghana from 2017 to 2025. She is married to former Vice-President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia. She received the Ghanaian Women Associati ...

(born 1980), Ghanaian politician and Second Lady the Ghana * Samira Bellil (1972–2004), French feminist who worked for women's rights in Muslim settings *

Samira Besic Maxx is a German Eurodance project that was internationally successful in the mid-90s with the hit singles " Get-A-Way", " No More (I Can't Stand It)" and " You Can Get It". The name 'Maxx' is a special acronym for Maximum Xstasy. History Grou ...

, German singer of Bosnian origin of the Eurodance group

Maxx Maxx may refer to: * MAXX (public transport brand), a public transport brand in Auckland, New Zealand * MAXX, one of hotel brands of H World International * Maxx (group), Maxx (eurodance act), a German-based eurodance music project from the 1990s * ...

* Samira Brahmia, Franco-Algerian singer-songwriter and actress * Samira Ćosović (born 1973), Serbian politician *

Samira Efendi Samira Azer gizi Efendiyeva (; born 17 April 1991), known as Samira Efendi or Efendi, is an Azerbaijani singer. She Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, represented Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Mata Ha ...

(born 1991), Azerbaijani singer who represented

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2021 The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's win at the with the song "Arcade (song), Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was se ...

Samira Fazal Samira Fazal () is a Pakistani author and screenwriter. She is best known for writing the scripts for the dramas '' Dastaan'', '' Vasl'', ''Khamoshiyan'', '' Bari Aapa,'' and '' Mera Naseeb'' for which she earned a Lux Style Award for best TV Wr ...

(born 1976), Pakistani author and screenwriter *

Samira Gutoc Samira Ali Gutoc (born December 19, 1974) is a Filipina civic leader, journalist, environmentalist, women's rights advocate and politician. She served as a member of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindana ...

(born 1974), Filipino journalist and politician * Samira Hashi (born 1991), Somali-British model, social activist and community worker * Samira Hurem (born 1972), Bosnian football manager and former player *

Samira Ibrahim Samira Ibrahim (, ) (born Wiktionary:circa, c. 1987) is an Egyptian activist who came to prominence during the Egyptian revolution. Tahrir sit-in and aftermath On March 9, 2011, she participated in a sit-in at Tahrir Square in Cairo. The military ...

(born c. 1987), Egyptian activist *

Samira Islam Samira Ibrahim Islam () is a Saudi Arabian pharmaceutical Scientist. She heads King Fahd Medical Research Center's Drug Monitoring Unit at King Abdulaziz University. She was instrumental in securing formal university education for women in Saudi A ...

, Saudi Arabian pharmacologist and scholar *

Samira Khashoggi Samira Khashoggi (, 1935 – March 1986) was a Saudi Arabian progressive author, as well as the founder of ''Al Sharkiah'' magazine. She was the sister of the Saudi businessman Adnan Khashoggi. She was the first wife of Egyptian businessman Moham ...

(1935–1986), Saudi Arabian author and the founder of ''Al Sharkiah'' magazine * Samira Kitman (born 1984), Afghani calligrapher and miniaturist * Samira Magroun (born 1987), Tunisian actress *

Samira Makhmalbaf Samira Makhmalbaf (, ''Samira Makhmalbaaf''; , born 15 February 1980) is an Iranian filmmaker and screenwriter. She is the daughter of Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the film director and writer. Samira Makhmalbaf is considered to be part of the Iranian New ...

(born 1980), Iranian film director * Samira Manners (born 2000), British-Swedish singer-songwriter * Samira Marti (born 1994), Swiss politician * Samira Merai (born 1963), Tunisian doctor and politician * Samira Mezeghrane (born 1979), French long-distance runner *

Samira Mighty Samira Jade Mighty (born 16 November 1995) is an English television personality, actress and singer. Mighty began her career with appearances in West End theatre shows including '' Mamma Mia!'' and ''Dreamgirls'', as well as an appearance in th ...

(born 1996), English television personality and actress *

Samira Mubareka Samira Mubareka (born 1972) is a Canadian microbiologist who is a clinical scientist at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Her research considers the influenza virus, viral transmission and aerobiology. During the COVID-19 ...

(born 1972), Canadian clinical scientist * Samira Musah, American biomedical engineer and professor * Samira Mustafaeva (born 1993), Russian-Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnast * Samira Nawa (born 1988), Danish politician * Samira Rafaela (born 1989), Dutch politician *

Samira Raif Samira Raif (born 4 April 1974 in Casablanca) is a Morocco, Moroccan long-distance runner. She competed in the Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's marathon, marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, placing 73rd with a time of 2:38:3 ...

(born 1974), Moroccan long-distance runner * Samira Rocha (born 1989), Brazilian handball player * Samira Sabou (born 1981), Nigerien journalist and blogger. *

Samira Said Samira Abdelrazak Bensaïd (; born 10 January 1958), professionally known as Samira Said (), is a Moroccan-Egyptian singer who has lived in Egypt for more than 40 years and is known for her Egyptian Arabic genre. She represented Morocco in the E ...

(born 1958), Moroccan pop singer * Samira Saraya (born 1975), Palestinian actor, filmmaker, poet, and artist *

Samira Shahbandar Samira Shahbandar (, born 1946) is an Iraqi former physician and the second wife of Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq from 1979 to 2003. Early life Shahbandar was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1946 into an aristocratic Baghdad family. Career ...

(born 1946), Saddam Hussein's second wife * Samira Sitail (born 1964), Moroccan journalist and diplomat * Samira Suleman (born 1991), Ghanaian footballer * Samira Tewfik (born 1935), Lebanese Syrian singer of Bedouin dialect *

Samira Wiley Samira Wiley is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Poussey Washington in the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019) and as Moira in the Hulu dystopian drama series ''The Handmaid's Tal ...

(born 1987), American actress * Princess Samira, a fictional princess in

Shimmer and Shine ''Shimmer and Shine'' is an American animated television series created by Farnaz Esnaashari-Charmatz and produced by Guru Studio on Season 1, Xentrix Studios on Seasons 2–4, and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It premiered on Nickelodeon's Ni ...

Sameera

* Sameera Al Bitar (born 1990), Olympic swimmer from Bahrain * Sameera Aziz (born 1979), Saudi media personality, social worker, radio host, and businesswoman * Sameera bint Ibrahim Rajab, Bahraini politician * Sameera Fazili, American attorney and public official * Sameera Gunaratne (born 1997), Sri Lankan cricketer *

Sameera Moussa Sameera Moussa or Samira Musa Ali () (March 3, 1917 – August 15, 1952) was an Egyptian atomic scientist and physicist, she is the first female Egyptian nuclear physicist. Moussa held a doctorate in atomic radiation. She hoped her work would ...

(1917-1952), Egyptian nuclear scientist * Sameera Perera (born 1988), Sri Lankan cricketer *

Sameera Reddy Sameera Reddy (born 14 December 1978) is a former Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi, Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, Telugu language films. She made her film debut with the 2002 film ''Maine Dil Tujhko Diya''. Reddy is bes ...

(born 1980), Indian film actress * Sameera Sadamal (born 1993), Sri Lankan cricketer * Sameera Saneesh (born 1983), Indian costume designer in Malayalam film * Sameera Sherief (born 1988), Indian actress and producer

Fictional characters

* Samira, The Desert Rose, a playable champion character in the MOBA video game ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL'', commonly referred to as ''League'', is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for ''Warcraf ...

'' * Samirah al-Abbas, a character in

Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Jr. ( ; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million cop ...

's novel ''

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard ''Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels based on Norse mythology written by American author Rick Riordan and published by Disney- Hyperion. It is set in the same universe as the ''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles'' and '' ...

'' * Samira in Siba Shakib's novel '' Samira and Samir''

References

{{given name Arabic-language feminine given names Feminine given names Iranian feminine given names Bosnian feminine given names Indian masculine given names Masculine given names

People

Samira

Sameera

Fictional characters

See also

References