Girl's name
Tara
Say it TAR-uh
Sanskrit origin high place
2 syllables
Where Tara is loved, common and rare
Common across Slovenia and one more place. Rare in six German cities, Ireland, Austria and 12 more places.
1 in 754 girls born in Ireland in 2025
Slovenia 44thMunich 145thIreland 166th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 22 of the 40 official lists, among them Slovenia (44th), Munich (145th) and Ireland (166th).
Show all 22 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | 44th 2025 | 41 | about 1 in 161 |
| Munich city | 145th 2025 | 9 | about 1 in 466 |
| Ireland | 166th 2025 | 28 | 1 in 754 |
| Austria | 174th 2025 | 35 | 1 in 1,021 |
| Switzerland | 186th 2025 | 39 | 1 in 872 |
| Berlin city | 200th 2023 | 15 | about 1 in 967 |
| Cologne city | 217th 2023 | 5 | about 1 in 1,229 |
| Northern Ireland | 259th 2025 | 6 | 1 in 1,214 |
| Norway | 287th 2025 | 13 | 1 in 1,677 |
| British Columbia province | 321st 2023 | 10 | about 1 in 1,196 |
| The Netherlands | 340th 2025 | 41 | about 1 in 1,488 |
| Ontario province | 400th 2024 | 32 | about 1 in 1,702 |
| England and Wales | 444th 2025 | 90 | 1 in 2,814 |
| Sweden | 526th 2025 | 11 | about 1 in 3,652 |
| France | 589th 2025 | 70 | 1 in 4,097 |
| Scotland | 632nd 2025 | 4 | 1 in 4,473 |
| Quebec province | 775th 2025 | 5 | about 1 in 5,201 |
| Italy | 779th 2024 | 13 | 1 in 13,782 |
| Croatia | 41st 2025 | 105 | rank only |
| Bonn city | 145th 2025 | 4 | about 1 in 754 |
| Leipzig city | 156th 2025 | 3 | about 1 in 875 |
| Rostock city | 166th 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 985 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Catalonia, Poland, Hungary 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) and Argentina (top 20).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Statistični urad Republike Slovenije (SURS), SiStat (Slovenia); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Ministarstvo pravosuđa, uprave i digitalne transformacije (Matica rođenih) (Croatia); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock). How we count, and every source
About the name
Tara comes from the Irish Teamhair, from Old Irish Temair, literally 'high place', the name of a place in Ireland. As a given name it spread from the plantation called Tara in Gone with the Wind, which was named after that Irish place. Tara is also listed as a Sanskrit name.
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Two syllables, said TAR-uh, with the stress on the first. Tarah and Tarra are alternative spellings.
Canadian records put its peak in the mid-1970s. Today it is most popular in Croatia and Slovenia, where it ranks among the top 50, and it is used in Austria. Among English speakers it appears in Ireland, Northern Ireland and British Columbia, and it is rising in some regions and falling in others.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- TAR-uh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
high place
- Origin
- Sanskrit
- Other spellings
- Akhtar
- Tarah
- Tarra
Etymology
Borrowed from Irish Teamhrach, genitive of Teamhair, from Old Irish Temair (literally “high place”). The female given name is derived from the name of the plantation in Gone with the Wind, named for the place in Ireland.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 7 of 19 regions, falling in 6.
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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 | 468 | 582 | 527 | 584 | 555 | 720 | 638 | 637 | 547 | 444 |
| Scotland | 356 | 808 | 583 | 406 | 544 | 396 | 625 | 630 | 384 | 632 |
| Northern Ireland | 211 | 239 | 179 | 298 | 228 | 206 | 266 | 178 | 259 | |
| Ireland | 116 | 126 | 96 | 96 | 145 | 127 | 150 | 114 | 171 | 166 |
| Ontario | 457 | 450 | 469 | 448 | 366 | 435 | 291 | 384 | 400 | |
| British Columbia | 415 | 415 | 666 | 637 | 567 | 547 | 321 | |||
| South Australia | 230 | 558 | ||||||||
| Quebec | 655 | 651 | 822 | 646 | 915 | 534 | 775 | |||
| France | 429 | 462 | 419 | 544 | 530 | 470 | 614 | 590 | 612 | 589 |
| The Netherlands | 275 | 211 | 304 | 348 | 468 | 322 | 447 | 285 | 340 | |
| Austria | 202 | 175 | 190 | 181 | 231 | 150 | 154 | 196 | 143 | 174 |
| Switzerland | 135 | 130 | 112 | 132 | 117 | 113 | 133 | 110 | 162 | 186 |
| Berlin | 458 | 213 | 266 | 149 | 183 | 213 | 168 | 200 | ||
| Munich | 212 | 164 | 113 | 178 | 159 | 152 | 135 | 101 | 110 | 145 |
| Cologne | 470 | 433 | 233 | 684 | 251 | 198 | 252 | 217 | ||
| Bonn | 512 | 365 | 168 | 371 | 357 | 124 | 223 | 145 | ||
| Leipzig | 375 | 411 | 189 | 151 | 406 | 164 | 157 | 215 | 222 | 156 |
| Rostock | 283 | 141 | 126 | 133 | 122 | 174 | 166 | |||
| Norway | 356 | 348 | 242 | 347 | 248 | 322 | 349 | 234 | 298 | 287 |
| Sweden | 292 | 382 | 424 | 380 | 325 | 347 | 326 | 419 | 394 | 526 |
| Iceland | 181 | 208 | ||||||||
| Italy | 725 | 723 | 891 | 779 | ||||||
| Poland | 500 | 658 | 445 | 616 | 475 | |||||
| Slovenia | 41 | 33 | 32 | 35 | 31 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 40 | 44 |
| Croatia | 29 | 39 | 41 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 444 | 90 | 35.5 |
| 2024 | 547 | 71 | 27.5 |
| 2023 | 637 | 57 | 22.2 |
| 2022 | 638 | 59 | 22.4 |
| 2021 | 720 | 52 | 19.0 |
| 2020 | 555 | 71 | 26.5 |
| 2019 | 584 | 68 | 24.3 |
| 2018 | 527 | 80 | 27.8 |
| 2017 | 582 | 73 | 24.4 |
| 2016 | 468 | 93 | 30.3 |
| 2015 | 560 | 78 | 25.3 |
| 2014 | 535 | 79 | 25.8 |
| 2013 | 430 | 99 | 32.1 |
| 2012 | 420 | 109 | 33.8 |
| 2011 | 464 | 92 | 28.6 |
| 2010 | 370 | 123 | 38.3 |
| 2009 | 354 | 124 | 39.6 |
| 2008 | 311 | 150 | 47.5 |
| 2007 | 286 | 165 | 53.9 |
| 2006 | 263 | 179 | 59.8 |
| 2005 | 229 | 204 | 70.8 |
| 2004 | 226 | 201 | 70.3 |
| 2003 | 204 | 230 | 82.5 |
| 2002 | 166 | 265 | 99.1 |
| 2001 | 153 | 298 | 111.2 |
| 2000 | 133 | 345 | 126.3 |
| 1999 | 121 | 407 | 144.5 |
| 1998 | 110 | 466 | 161.1 |
| 1997 | 111 | 454 | 154.9 |
| 1996 | 110 | 422 | 142.6 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Tara in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1980. First recorded in 1950. Her peak year there: 1975, at 895.2 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Tara per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 1975 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 Tara
1 in 640 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Tara.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Tara.
1 in 2,347 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Tara.
1 in 660 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Tara.
1 in 4,225 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Tara.
1 in 128 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Tara.
1 in 1,214 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Tara.
1 in 2,556 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Tara.
1 in 42,214 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Tara.
1 in 5,282 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Tara. Same first letter as Tara.
Middle names for Tara
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Tara Grace
2-1 beats · initials TG
Changes the beat after Tara: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Tara Olivia
2-4 beats · initials TO · Tara slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Tara: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Tara slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Tara Sophia
2-3 beats · initials TS
Changes the beat after Tara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Tara Maria
2-3 beats · initials TM
Changes the beat after Tara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Tara Rose
2-1 beats · initials TR
Changes the beat after Tara: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Tara Emily
2-3 beats · initials TE · Tara slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Tara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Tara slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Tara Julia
2-3 beats · initials TJ
Changes the beat after Tara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Tara Miriam
2-3 beats · initials TM
Changes the beat after Tara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Tara
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 560 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Tara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,760 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Tara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,822 in Northern Ireland
92% alike: moves with Tara across countries and decades.
1 in 782 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Tara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
92% alike: moves with Tara across countries and decades.
1 in 577 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Tara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,689 in England and Wales
91% alike: moves with Tara across countries and decades.
1 in 660 in Ireland
91% alike: moves with Tara across countries and decades.
Famous people named Tara
Tara Reid, Tara Strong, Tara Lipinski, Tara Sutaria, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Tara Westover, Tara Fitzgerald and Tara Sharma.
Show all 8Show less
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American actress (born 1975)
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Canadian-American actress (born 1973)
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American figure skater (born 1982)
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Indian singer and actress born 1995
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American track and field athlete born 1999
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American historian and author born 1986
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English actress (born 1967)
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British film actress born 1977
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Tara
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Tara?
Her best rank is No. 41 in Croatia in 2025. She is in the published lists of 22 of our 40 regions.
What does Tara mean?
Wiktionary glosses Tara as "high place".
How do you pronounce Tara?
TAR-uh, with 2 syllables.
Is Tara getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 7 of 19 regions, falling in 6.
Which sister names go with Tara?
The deck's top five sisters for Tara: Amy, Heidi, Vanessa, Rebecca and Amanda. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.