Kara
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Meaning
variant of Cara, 'dear, beloved'
Famously borne by Kara Walker, whose cut-paper silhouettes confront slavery's brutal folklore.
The story
Kara is most simply the Italian endearment cara, dear or beloved, worn as a name, though the name arrives by other routes too, including as a modern spelling of Irish Cara and as a Scandinavian short of Karin. American use begins in the 1930s and builds patiently to a long even band from the 1980s through the 2010s, the k-spelling era treating it particularly well. It has eased modestly since. Kara's appeal is pure economy: four letters, two open syllables, one warm meaning, no explanation needed anywhere English is spoken. And it carries just enough quiet mythology, from Renaissance love letters to the comic-book alter ego of Supergirl herself, to keep those four letters from ever feeling thin. It is the kind of name that survives the second pass, once the louder candidates have argued themselves out of the running.
How popular is Kara around the world?
In the United States, 1,889 babies were named Kara between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 9 girls named Kara were born in 2025, the 413th most common name among girls that year.
Kara is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, South Australia, Scotland, Canada, England and Wales, France, Mexico City, Austria, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 12,000
In the United States, 1,889 babies were named Kara between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kara peaked in the 1980s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 6,000
In Ireland, 9 girls named Kara were born in 2025, the 413th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 girls were registered as Kara in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 7,600
In Scotland, 6 girls named Kara were registered in 2024, the 476th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 9,600
In Canada, 38 girls named Kara were born in 2024, the 772nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 19,000
In England and Wales, 31 girls named Kara were born in 2025, ranked 1,079th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 32,000
In France, about 20 girls named Kara were born in 2025, ranked 1,779th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Mexico City City
1 in 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Kara in 2022.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Kara was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Spain
1 in 640,000
In Spain, 47 residents are named Kara, ranked 14,701st among women, with a mean age of 12.2 years.
In Spain, 23 residents are named Kara, ranked 27,331st among men, with a mean age of 35.7 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2021
Kara is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 92 people in Brazil were named Kara, ranked 43,748th, with a median age of 10.
Among people named Kara living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
New Zealand
last on record 2016
Kara is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Poland
last on record 2016
Kara is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Kara
Most people given the name Kara in the United States were born between 1970 and 1999. The Kara you meet today is most often in her 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Kara deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kara truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Kara fits with your family’s names and surname.
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