Girl's name
Cara
Say it KAR-uh
A modern coinage dear
2 syllables
Where Cara is loved, common and rare
Common across Northern Ireland and Ireland. Rare in Scotland, four German cities, England and Wales and six more places.
1 in 140 girls born in Northern Ireland in 2025
Northern Ireland 25thIreland 52ndScotland 211th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 14 of the 40 official lists, among them Northern Ireland (25th), Ireland (52nd) and Scotland (211th).
Show all 14 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 25th 2025 | 52 | 1 in 140 |
| Ireland | 52nd 2025 | 94 | 1 in 225 |
| Scotland | 211th 2025 | 18 | 1 in 994 |
| Cologne city | 308th 2023 | 3 | about 1 in 2,048 |
| England and Wales | 468th 2025 | 85 | 1 in 2,980 |
| British Columbia province | 592nd 2023 | 5 | about 1 in 2,392 |
| Austria | 858th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 8,930 |
| Berlin city | 937th 2023 | 2 | about 1 in 7,252 |
| Switzerland | 1013th 2025 | 5 | 1 in 6,799 |
| Ontario province | 1180th 2024 | 9 | about 1 in 6,052 |
| France | 2317th 2025 | 10 | 1 in 28,679 |
| Italy | 4773rd 2024 | 1 | 1 in 179,169 |
| Bonn city | 249th 2025 | 2 | about 1 in 1,508 |
| Leipzig city | 344th 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 2,624 |
Rare, below the listed names: Quebec, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Munich, Rostock, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Catalonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: NISRA (Northern Ireland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig). How we count, and every source
About the name
A 20th-century English coinage, Cara was taken from Italian cara, 'dear', or from Irish cara, 'friend'.
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Two syllables, KAR-uh, give it a warm, simple sound. Kara is a variant spelling, Ciara is a similar-sounding Irish name, and Karina and Caraline are related forms.
Cara ranks well in Northern Ireland and Ireland and is used in Scotland, while it is rare in Austria, Switzerland and France. In the Ontario and British Columbia records it peaked in 1977, and its trend today is fairly balanced between rises and falls. Its double source gives it a friendly meaning in both Italian and Irish.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- KAR-uh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
dear
- Origin
- Newly coined
- Other spellings
- Kara
- Ciara
- Karina
- Cheri
- Cheryl
- Caraline
- Caira
- Cherie
Etymology
20th-century English coinage from Italian cara (“dear”) or Irish cara (“friend”).
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 3 of 8 regions, falling in 4.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 237 | 256 | 295 | 305 | 327 | 373 | 468 | 444 | 454 | 468 |
| Scotland | 73 | 94 | 65 | 96 | 151 | 126 | 200 | 130 | 196 | 211 |
| Northern Ireland | 23 | 21 | 28 | 26 | 31 | 36 | 44 | 28 | 33 | 25 |
| Ireland | 34 | 34 | 29 | 31 | 36 | 33 | 33 | 27 | 37 | 52 |
| Ontario | 552 | 387 | 458 | 832 | 621 | 683 | 834 | 795 | 1180 | |
| British Columbia | 324 | 518 | 370 | 458 | 390 | 646 | 592 | |||
| Quebec | 601 | 927 | 913 | |||||||
| France | 1484 | 1041 | 1128 | 1227 | 1393 | 1423 | 1389 | 1521 | 1523 | 2317 |
| Austria | 502 | 551 | 485 | 541 | 736 | 425 | 660 | 532 | 1301 | 858 |
| Switzerland | 896 | 1292 | 1148 | 1020 | 1045 | 737 | 892 | 794 | 607 | 1013 |
| Berlin | 386 | 419 | 491 | 668 | 378 | 325 | 426 | 937 | ||
| Munich | 239 | 227 | ||||||||
| Rostock | 202 | 202 | 102 | 174 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 468 | 85 | 33.6 |
| 2024 | 454 | 91 | 35.3 |
| 2023 | 444 | 90 | 35.1 |
| 2022 | 468 | 90 | 34.2 |
| 2021 | 373 | 123 | 44.9 |
| 2020 | 327 | 140 | 52.2 |
| 2019 | 305 | 156 | 55.7 |
| 2018 | 295 | 160 | 55.5 |
| 2017 | 256 | 195 | 65.2 |
| 2016 | 237 | 218 | 71.0 |
| 2015 | 248 | 200 | 64.9 |
| 2014 | 230 | 222 | 72.4 |
| 2013 | 239 | 208 | 67.4 |
| 2012 | 230 | 220 | 68.3 |
| 2011 | 218 | 228 | 71.0 |
| 2010 | 243 | 205 | 63.9 |
| 2009 | 199 | 254 | 81.1 |
| 2008 | 199 | 262 | 83.0 |
| 2007 | 196 | 277 | 90.5 |
| 2006 | 198 | 250 | 83.5 |
| 2005 | 209 | 227 | 78.7 |
| 2004 | 190 | 251 | 87.8 |
| 2003 | 159 | 304 | 109.1 |
| 2002 | 181 | 240 | 89.8 |
| 2001 | 140 | 324 | 120.9 |
| 2000 | 155 | 288 | 105.4 |
| 1999 | 163 | 271 | 96.2 |
| 1998 | 151 | 307 | 106.2 |
| 1997 | 156 | 292 | 99.6 |
| 1996 | 156 | 282 | 95.3 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Cara in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1987. First recorded in 1954. Her peak year there: 1977, at 129.8 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Cara per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 1977 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Cara
1 in 587 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Cara.
1 in 274 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Cara.
1 in 197 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Cara.
1 in 486 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Cara.
1 in 640 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Cara.
1 in 121 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Cara.
1 in 128 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Cara.
1 in 1,214 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Cara.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Alannah.
1 in 584 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Cara.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Cara.
Middle names for Cara
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Cara Grace
2-1 beats · initials CG
Changes the beat after Cara: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Cara Olivia
2-4 beats · initials CO · Cara slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Cara: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Cara slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Cara Sophia
2-3 beats · initials CS
Changes the beat after Cara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Cara Maria
2-3 beats · initials CM
Changes the beat after Cara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Cara Rose
2-1 beats · initials CR
Changes the beat after Cara: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Cara Emily
2-3 beats · initials CE · Cara slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Cara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Cara slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Cara Julia
2-3 beats · initials CJ
Changes the beat after Cara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Cara Miriam
2-3 beats · initials CM
Changes the beat after Cara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Cara
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 121 in Ireland
96% alike: moves with Cara across countries and decades.
1 in 2,347 in Ireland
96% alike: moves with Cara across countries and decades.
1 in 128 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Cara across countries and decades.
1 in 155 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Cara across countries and decades.
1 in 197 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Cara across countries and decades.
1 in 480 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Cara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Cara across countries and decades.
1 in 895 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Cara across countries and decades.
Famous people named Cara
Cara Black, Cara Buono, Cara Williams, Cara Gee, Cara Seymour and Cara Theobold.
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Zimbabwean tennis player born 1979
-
American actress, screenwriter, and director born 1971
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American actress (1925–2021)
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Canadian actress (born 1983)
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British actress born 1964
-
British actress born 1990
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Cara
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Cara?
Her best rank is No. 25 in Northern Ireland in 2025, about 1 in 140 girls. She is in the published lists of 14 of our 40 regions.
What does Cara mean?
Wiktionary glosses Cara as "dear".
How do you pronounce Cara?
KAR-uh, with 2 syllables.
Is Cara getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 3 of 8 regions, falling in 4.
Which sister names go with Cara?
The deck's top five sisters for Cara: Kayla, Holly, Katie, Amber and Amy. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.