The Baby Name Wizard

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Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Sierra!

Comments and insights on the name Sierra: | Edit

Sierra means "mountain" in Spanish. It is not related to the name Ciara, despite being its homophone.

Sierra is S in the NATO phonetic alphabet

Personal experiences with the name Sierra: | Edit

When my husband and I were first married we had friends who had a daughter named Misty Dawn. My husband told me that if we ever had a daughter he wanted to name her Sierra Dawn, for a mountain sunrise. Three years later, while stationed in Spain with the Air Force I gave birth to 5 lb 5 oz Sierra Dawn. The doctor that delivered her asked her name. When I told him, Sierra Dawn, for a mountain sunrise he quipped, |"I think you just made a mountain out of a molehill!". Of course our Spanish friends thought we were crazy naming our daughter "Saw" and so called her Sarah! and my great aunt who was hard of hearing called her Sahara. The Filipino women at her first day care called her Si-Sarah because they couldn't say the double R's . She is now 33 and has a son named John!

Nicknames for Sierra: | Edit

CeCe, Sis, Arrah, Se

Meanings and history of the name Sierra: | Edit

Sierra's original meaning is "saw" in Spanish. The word has then been used to describe mountain ranges, due to the sawtooth appearance of the peaks. Examples include the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra Madre. In California, "The Sierras" refers to the Sierra Nevada and the vast natural beauty contained therein, in such famous places as Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park.

Famous real-life people named Sierra: | Edit

Sierra Boggess, singer and star of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Love Never Dies

Sierra in song, story & screen: | Edit

Sierra is the name of one of the Dolls in the television series Dollhouse. The dolls are mindwiped and have no personalities except what is needed for a specific mission, but Sierra seems sweet and friendly and is often used for military missions.