Cara - Meaning of Cara

What does Cara mean?

[ 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. It is 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).

What are the Variant Forms of Cara?





Cara is a widely used name; it has 49 variant transcriptions that are used in 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, and Charissa. 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. It is 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.

See also the related categories, hausa, english, beloved (honey), jewel (pearl), diamond, irish, literature, italian, celtic, church, saints, and german.

Cara is an all-time favorite. Today it is still somewhat popular as a baby name for girls, though it was in more widespread use before. 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 2018, it ranked at #873 with a usage of 0.017%. Out of the group of girl names directly linked to Cara, Kara was the most frequently used. The name was twice as popular as Cara in 2018.

Baby names that sound like Cara include Kara, Cairo, Carah, Caray, Carew, Carewe, Carey, Cari, Carie, Caro, Carree, Carrey, Carri, Carrie, Carry, Carrye, Cary, Ciarra, Ciera, and Cora.

† 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)"

Meaning of Cara Meaning of Cara Meaning of Cara Meaning of Cara Meaning of Karissa Meaning of Karina Meaning of Carissa Meaning of Carina Meaning of Carey Meaning of Karah Meaning of Charissa
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