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Kara

Meaning: Dear, beloved
Origin: Variant of Cara; Cara is described as a 20th-century English coinage (from Italian)

Meaning: Friend
Origin: Variant of Cara (from Irish)

Girl's name · #1075 in the US (2025) · 80s wave

Popularity over time

Kara reached #95 in 1984 and has faded to #1075 since. About 102,000 girls have carried it since 1896.

Across the states

See where Kara is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 31 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Kara ranks in other countries and regions.

#429 in Ireland (2025) · #590 in Scotland (2025) · #1,095 in England & Wales (2025) · #1,597 in Switzerland (2025) · #1,618 in France (2025) · #785 in Canada (2024).

Famous Karas

Kara Walker — American painter and installation artist (born 1969)
Kara DioGuardi — American music producer, composer and pop singer
Kara Hayward — American actress
Kara Goucher — American long-distance runner
Kara Monaco — American model

In stories & tradition

Kara (Power Girl) — Injustice 2 (video game)
Kara Zor-El — Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (film)
Kara Thrace — Battlestar Galactica (TV series)

What Karas become

Among 297 notable people named Kara:

Sports figures appear 1.61× more often than among typical names — e.g. Kara Goucher, American long-distance runner.

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variant Cara (#1326), Kara would rank around #711 with about 390 births last year — the newborns split about 57/43 between Kara and Cara.

Similar names: Cara · Natasha · Kari · Tara · Kendra · Casey

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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