Cara

Girl name

Cara has been given to 53,367 babies in the U.S. since 1882. It peaked in 1985.

Meaning & origin

th-century English coinage from Italian cara (“dear”) or Irish cara (“friend”).

Origin: coinages

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025

Hover or tap the chart to read any year.

Total babies

53,367

Peak year

1985 (1,472 babies)

Rank in 2025

Below top 1000

First recorded

1882

10-year trend

▼ -57%

Gender split

100% girls / 0% boys

Famous people named Cara

Cara Delevingne

English model and actor (born 1992)

Carly Fiorina

American businesswoman and politician

Cara Black

Zimbabwean tennis player

Cara Buono

American actress, screenwriter, and director

Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).

Names with a similar vibe

Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Cara.

Kirstengirl

53,393 babies since 1937

Cristinagirl

52,698 babies since 1906

Johannagirl

54,376 babies since 1880

Laceygirl

55,233 babies since 1886

Janellegirl

56,967 babies since 1912

Jaclyngirl

49,734 babies since 1923

Alishagirl

57,127 babies since 1948

Cassiegirl

47,027 babies since 1880

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