Cara

Cara: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “beloved”
Origin: Italian
Say it: KAIR-uh · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

From Italian cara, 'dear, beloved'. It is also sometimes used as an Anglicized form of the Irish name Ciara, though those names have different origins.

Italian names English names Irish names Names meaning love Names meaning beauty Classic names International names Short names

How popular is Cara?

202454.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Cara in 2024178

2024 rank#1,294 girls

Peak year1977

Total US babies since 188053,197

Cara is fading: recent use is about 55% of its level ten years before.

Names like Cara

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Karauncertain; possibly beloved or black · Unknown
Cariuncertain; often a form of Cara or Kari · Unknown
Miamine; also Maria diminutive · Italian
IsabellaGod is my oath · Italian
GiannaGod is gracious · Italian
Ariaair; melody · Italian
Bellabeautiful · Italian
Siennafrom Siena · Italian

Cara questions

What does the name Cara mean?

Cara means "beloved". It comes from Italian. From Italian cara, 'dear, beloved'. It is also sometimes used as an Anglicized form of the Irish name Ciara, though those names have different origins.

Is Cara a boy or girl name?

Cara is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Cara?

178 US babies were named Cara in 2024. Its peak year was 1977.

How do you pronounce Cara?

Cara is usually pronounced KAIR-uh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.