Tara

What Tara means

Means “high place”

Borrowed from Irish Teamhrach, genitive of Teamhair, from Old Irish Temair (literally “high place”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Tara” (revision 94543972), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Tara?

US: Steady: #911 in 2015, #844 now. England & Wales: Rising: up from #560 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1972, when 7,234 girls got the name (#38 that year). First in the US records in 1939.

How common

• About 1 in 4,992 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,814 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 4,473 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 WA (0.83 per 1,000 girls), MA (0.5 per 1,000 girls), MD (0.45 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Tara is #844 in the US and #444 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 Tara were girls.

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

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Dara207 US · 14 E&W
• Tori167 US · 17 E&W
• Dora75 US · 25 E&W
• Terra74 US
• Dayra35 US
• Daira32 US
• Darah32 US
• Tyra32 US

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 Tara

Girls

• Amber#520“ambergris”^*
• Savannah#135From the word “savannah”^*
• Kali#323Editor’s note Down from #267 in 2015 to #323 in 2025 in the US
• Dakota#295“ally”^*
• Anya#375Editor’s note Up from #550 in 2015 to #375 in 2025 in the US
• Maya#62Editor’s note Steady in the US: #68 in 2015 and #62 in 2025. About 1 in 430 US girls in the 2025 records

For a brother

• Jay#392“victory”^*
• Dallas#238“dweller at the house in the dale”^*
• Rohan#810“to ascend”^*
• Ishaan#893Editor’s note Up from #918 in 2015 to #893 in 2025 in the US
• Kieran#389Editor’s note Up from #512 in 2015 to #389 in 2025 in the US
• Bodhi#265Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1976, with 5 babies

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a place name, Sanskrit & Indian, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Tara’s. Rank is US 2025.