Lara
Lara was the 693rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 409 babies. Its best year was 1969, when it ranked 223rd with 1,354 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 120 places. More babies were named Lara in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning Russian pet form of Larisa · Russian, Greek
Say it LAR-uh /ˈlɑrə/
- Rank in 2025
- #693 girls, up 17 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 409girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19691,354 babies
- Total since 1880
- 30,202babies recorded
What does the name Lara mean?
Lara is an anglicized form of Russian Lara, a pet form of Larisa, according to Wiktionary. English speakers know it from the novel Doctor Zhivago (1957) and its 1965 film, whose heroine is Lara, as Wiktionary notes. Our sources do not give a meaning for Larisa itself. French, German and Italian also borrowed Lara from Russian. Lara has been used in the US since the 1880s.
Ла́ра (Russian, “pet form of Larisa”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. The Russian pet-form origin is documented; the meaning of Larisa is not given by our sources.
Related names: Larissa, Larisa, Laura.
See also: Slavic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Lara' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Lara' (French section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Lara popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 34 since 1918.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #693 | 409 |
| 2020 | #710 | 396 |
| 2010 | #881 | 301 |
| 2000 | #848 | 262 |
| 1990 | #539 | 442 |
| 1980 | #393 | 579 |
| 1970 | #235 | 1,332 |
| 1960 | #1,608 | 49 |
| 1950 | #2,495 | 17 |
| 1940 | #2,497 | 12 |
| 1930 | #1,987 | 18 |
| 1920 | #2,125 | 18 |
| 1910 | #1,852 | 8 |
| 1900 | #1,652 | 7 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Lara, counting every spelling?
Lara is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #687 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #693 for Lara on its own. Together these spellings went to 414 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lara | 409 | #693 | 2,024 |
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 many kids will share the name Lara?
409 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lara (0.11 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Lara born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 21 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lara.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lara?
About 28,400 people born in the US named Lara are alive today, with a median age of 41; half are between 21 and 53. That makes Lara mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
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.
Lara by state
How common Lara was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Massachusetts (3.4×), Connecticut (2.8×), Florida (2.6×), New Jersey (2.5×), New York (1.7×). In 23 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Lara: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lara, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Lara · Sibling names for Lara
Questions about the name Lara
What does Lara mean?
Lara is usually explained as “Russian pet form of Larisa”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Lara?
Lara was the 693rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 409 babies. Its best year was 1969, when it ranked 223rd with 1,354 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 120 places. More babies were named Lara in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Lara a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Lara in the US.
Where is Lara most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lara was most common in Massachusetts (0.83 per 1,000 girls), followed by Connecticut and Florida.