Lara

Meaning: Citadel or fortress
Origin: Russian/Ukrainian (from Ancient Greek) — Variant of Larissa · Alternatively named for a Greek mythological nymph

Girl's name · #693 in the US (2025) · Retro

Popularity over time

Lara's best rank, #223, came in 1969; it has settled back to #693 today. Roughly 30,000 girls have been named Lara since 1887.

Across the states

See where Lara is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 24 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

Lara is especially popular in Croatia.

#10 in Croatia (2025) · #11 in Hungary (2025) · #17 in Switzerland (2025) · #18 in Spain (2024) · #18 in Finland (other-lang.) (2025) · #20 in Austria (2025) · #20 in Slovenia (2025) · #57 in Netherlands (2025) · #65 in Belgium (2025) · #68 in Czechia (2025) · #95 in Sweden (2025) · #97 in Bosnia (FBiH) (2025) and 11 more.

Famous Laras

Lara Dutta — Indian actress (born 1978)
Lara Fabian — Belgian and Canadian singer and songwriter
Lara Flynn Boyle — American actress (born 1970)
Lara Gut-Behrami — Swiss alpine skier
Lara Stone — Dutch model

As a surname

It is also an American family name — about 83,000 people carried it as a surname in the 2010 census.

Alexandra Maria Lara — German actress
Brian Lara — West Indian cricketer
Agustín Lara — Mexican composer and interpreter of songs and boleros (1897–1970)

In stories & tradition

Lara Croft — Tomb Raider (video game)
Lara Lor-Van — Smallville (TV series)
Lara Manni^it — heteronym

What Laras become

Among 995 notable people named Lara:

Sports figures appear 1.84× more often than among typical names — e.g. Lara Gut-Behrami, Swiss alpine skier.

Similar names: Larissa · Angie · Lacey · Dara · Sonia · Kyra

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

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service