Kara

“Variant of Cara — Dear, beloved (Italian) or friend (Irish)” — Italian/Irish, 20th-century English coinage origin

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

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

Around the world: about 1 in 2,300 girls in Ireland (2025) · about 1 in 3,600 girls in Scotland (2025) · about 1 in 3,900 girls in Canada (2024).

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

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 · All Star Comics
Kara Zor-El — Superman/Batman: Apocalypse · Smallville
Kara Thrace — Battlestar Galactica

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.

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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