Karah
Karah was not among the names given to 5 or more girls in 2025. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 1417th with 131 babies. More babies were named Karah in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Kara) variant of Cara ('dear') · Italian, Latin, Irish
- Rank in 2025
- Not rankedgirls
- Babies in 2025
- 0girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2000131 babies
- Total since 1880
- 3,274babies recorded
What does the name Karah mean?
Karah is a spelling of Kara, pronounced the same way, so it shares Kara's meaning and origin.
Kara is listed by Wiktionary as a variant of Cara. Cara is the Italian and Latin word for 'dear, beloved' (feminine of caro), and is also the Irish word cara 'friend'. Kara is separately a Turkish word meaning 'black' and occurs in Turkic names, and it appears in other languages too. In the US it became common in the 1970s and 1980s.
cara (Italian / Latin, “dear, beloved”)cara (Irish, “friend”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Related names: Cara, Karah, Carina.
See also: Latin names, names that mean love.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kara', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Cara', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Karah popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | — |
| 2020 | #5,750 | 21 |
| 2010 | #2,324 | 82 |
| 2000 | #1,417 | 131 |
| 1990 | #1,710 | 86 |
| 1980 | #2,556 | 37 |
| 1970 | #8,588 | 5 |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Karah, counting every spelling?
Karah is a spelling of Kara, a name family that ranked #702 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together. Together these spellings went to 407 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kara | 226 | #1,075 | 1,462 |
| Cara | 168 | #1,326 | 984 |
| Kera | 8 | #11,430 | 47 |
| Karah | — | — | 45 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How old are people named Karah?
About 3,200 people born in the US named Karah are alive today, with a median age of 27; half are between 19 and 35. That makes Karah mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Karah: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Karah, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Karah
What does Karah mean?
Karah is a spelling of Kara, which means “variant of Cara ('dear')” (Italian, Latin, Irish origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Karah?
Karah was not among the names given to 5 or more girls in 2025. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 1417th with 131 babies. More babies were named Karah in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Karah a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Karah in the US.