Lara

What Lara means

Icelandic, from Latin Laura, meaning “laurel tree”

Borrowed from Latin Laura, from the feminine form of laurus (“laurel tree”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Lára” (revision 91435962), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Lara?

US: Rising: up from #812 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #125 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1969, when 1,354 girls got the name (#222 that year). First in the US records in 1887.

How common

• About 1 in 3,930 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 545 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 426 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in MA (0.75 per 1,000 girls), CT (0.7 per 1,000 girls), IL (0.63 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Lara is #691 in the US and #98 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Lara were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the UK pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Lyra711 US · 643 E&W
• Laura805 US · 148 E&W
• Lori118 US · 14 E&W
• Lora58 US · 7 E&W
• Lira29 US · 21 E&W
• Lyrah17 US · 11 E&W
• Leira22 US
• Laira9 US · 5 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Lara

Girls

• Vera#205“faith”^*
• Ivanna#566Same root as Jane, meaning “God is gracious”^*
• Mila#43Editor’s note Up from #53 in 2015 to #43 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 340 US girls in the 2025 records
• Lana#406Form of Elon, meaning “oak tree”^*
• Milena#950“dear, kind”^*
• Milan#751Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1969, with 8 babies

For a brother

• Ira#819“watchful”^*
• Milan#242Editor’s note Used for both: 80% of US babies named Milan in 2025 were boys
• Luka#85Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #85 vs #261 in 2025
• Damir#980Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1974, with 6 babies
• Ivan#162Same root as John, possibly meaning “God is gracious”^*
• Theodore#4Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #99 in 2015, #4 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Slavic where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Lara’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.