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 [ 2 syll. ca-ra, car-a ] The girl name Cara is pronounced KEHRah KEY. 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 has 24 forms. Forms of the name include Caralea, Caralee, Caralia, Caralin, Caralyn, Caranda, Carine (used in French and German too), Carra, Charissa, Kaira, Karalee, Karine (used in German, French, and Russian too), and Lacara. Other English forms include the pet forms 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. 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 English, German, and Scottish name Kara is a variant form of the name. 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 2008, it ranked at #463 with a usage of 0.033%, but it was nonetheless the 3rd most popular after the English, German, Latvian, Russian, and Scandinavian Karina and the English, German, and Scottish Kara, out of all girl names in its group. The name was twice as popular as Cara in 2008. Baby names that sound like Cara include the English Kaira, the English, German, and Scottish Kara, the English Keara, the English Kera, the English Carah, the English Carey, the English and Welsh Cari, the English Carie, the English Caro, the English Carra, the English Carrey, the English Carri, the English Carrie, the English Carry, the English Cary, the Italian Chiara, the English and French Cora, the English Corey, the English Cori, and the English Corie. KEY: English pronunciation for Cara: K as in "key (K.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)"   |
