Mara

“Bitter (Book of Ruth); in Slavic use a form of Maria” — Hebrew; also Slavic origin

Girl's name · #589 in the US (2025) · Trending

Mara is climbing: on the charts since 1892, it is ranked #589 in 2025, with about 500 girls given the name last year. Roughly 24,000 have carried it all-time. In Minnesota and South Dakota it runs about 4× its national rate.

Around the world: #43 in Croatia (2025) · #52 in Switzerland (2024) · #78 in Austria (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 34 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Maras

Mara Wilson — American actress
Mara Branković — 15th century Serbian princess, daughter of Đurađ Branković and Eirene Kantakouzene
Mara Carfagna — Italian politician
Mara Santangelo — Italian tennis player
Māra Zālīte — Latvian writer (born 1952)

In stories & tradition

Māra Pāpīyān — Buddhist deity
Mara Jade — Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi · Heir to the Empire
Māra — deity

What Maras become

Among 633 notable people named Mara:

Entertainers appear 1.68× more often than among typical names — e.g. Mara Wilson, American actress.

Similar names: Marie · Noemi · Maia · Lara · Ellianna · Dara

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

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