[ 2 syll. ca-ra, car-a ] The baby girl name Cara is pronounced KAAR-aa- or KEHR-ah- †. 1: Cara is of Italian origin. It is used mainly in English, German, and Italian. Derived literally from the word cara which is of the meaning 'dear, beloved'. The name is not common in Italy as it has not been borne by saints and is therefore not sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Among English speakers it was first used in the late 19th century. In literature, the name has appeared in Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited (1945). Cara is a widely used name; it has 49 variant transcriptions that are used in both English and foreign languages. English variant transcriptions of the name include Cahra, Caira, Carabel, Carabell, Carabelle, Caradoc, Caraf, Caraid, Carajean, Caralea, Caraleah, Caralee, Caraleigh, Caralia, Caralie, Caralin, Caralisa, Caralyn, Caralynn, Caranda, Carella, Carely, Caretta, Carilla, Carine, Carra, Carrah, Carry, Chara, Charissa, Kaira, Karalee, Karine, Karrie, Karry, and Lacara. Other English forms include the diminutives Carina (used in German, Italian, and Scandinavian too), Carissa, Karena, Karina (used in German too), and Karissa, and the spelling variants Caragh, Carah, Kaara, Kara (used in German too), and Karra. Karah (Italian) is a variant transcription of Cara that is used in foreign languages. The diminutives Carey (Welsh) and Carita (Italian) are other foreign variant transcriptions. 2: Cara is primarily used in the Irish and Scottish languages, and its language of origin is Celtic. Derived from the element 'cara' meaning friend. The Scottish name Kara is a form of Cara. 3: Cara's language of origin is Vietnamese. Meaning: 'diamond, precious jewel'. 4: Cara is of African-Hausa origin. Meaning: 'to increase or complain'. See also the related form, the English Carreen. Cara is fairly popular as a baby name for girls. The name jumped in popularity from the 1950s up to the 1970s. At the peak of its usage in 1977, 0.086% of baby girls were given the name Cara. Its ranking then was #189. The baby name has since experienced a drop in frequency. In 2010, it ranked at #642 with a usage of 0.023%, but it was nonetheless the 3rd most popular after Karina and Kara, out of all girl names in its group. The name was twice as popular as Cara in 2010. Baby names that sound like Cara include the name Caira, the English Kaira, the English, German, and Scottish Kara, the name Caheira, the name Caheirah, the name Cahra, the name Cairo, the English Carah, the name Caree, the name Carew, the Welsh, English, and Irish Carey, the English and Welsh Cari, the English Carie, the English Caro, the English Carra, the name Carrah, the name Carree, the name Carress, the English Carrey, and the English Carri. † English pronunciation for Cara: K as in "key (K.IY)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; R as in "race (R.EY.S)" ; EH as in "ebb (EH.B)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)" |
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