Given name & surname · also Italian
Cara
“beloved”·“one who is dearly loved”·“a good friend”
Cara is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “beloved”, “one who is dearly loved”, and “a good friend”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “beloved”, “one who is dearly loved”, and “a good friend”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Italian.
How it developed
From Italian cara (“dear”), from Irish cara (“friend”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1882. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cara through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 53,367
- 62 boys · 53,305 girls
- Most popular year
- 1985
- 1,472 babies
- 2025
- 168
- #1,326 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −35%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 168 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,326 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 35.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,465 in 1985. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (21). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 48,443 as a first name in 2020; 687 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cara’s family of names
In English usage, Cara has a related form in Kara. In Italian usage, Cara has a conventional equivalent in the German form Carina. Cara has a related form in Chara.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 21
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Cara
- Cara DelevingneEnglish model and actor (born 1992)
- Carly FiorinaAmerican businesswoman and politicianborn 1954
- Cara BlackZimbabwean tennis playerborn 1979
- Cara BuonoAmerican actress, screenwriter, and directorborn 1971
- Cara WilliamsAmerican actress (1925–2021)
- Cara CunninghamAmerican Internet personality, songwriter, and recording artistborn 1987
- Cara GeeCanadian actress (born 1983)
- Cara SeymourBritish actressborn 1964
- Cara TheoboldBritish actressborn 1990
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Cara, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Dara
“a wise woman” · “from the oak tree”
14% boys · 86% girls
Allegra
Allegra is a variant of Alegria. One Spanish interpretation is “one who is cheerful and brings happiness to others.”
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Caitlin
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% girls
Katelyn
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% girls
Tia
“an aunt” · “daughter born to royalty”
>99% girls
Tara
“hill”
>99% girls
Meghan
Meghan is a feminine given name from Welsh.
>99% girls
Kiana
“from an ancient family” · “of an ancient family”
>99% girls