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Dara

#1,129 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Dara has been given to 14,547 babies in the U.S. since 1893. In 2025 it ranked #1,129 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1981, with 453 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 94% girls, 6% boys all-time.

Babies named Dara, 2025

1 in 16,000

Dara over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
020040060018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Dara over time

In 2025, Dara went to 81% girls and 19% boys.

18932025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Dara: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Irish and Persian

What Dara means

Dara has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

Origin, language, and formation

Dara is used in English. Its origins include Irish and Persian.

Dara comes through Irish Dáire.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Dara is pronounced /ˈdɑːɹə/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 13,692 girls were recorded with the name Dara between 1893 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 453 in 1981; its best national rank was #469 in 1981.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,329 in 2020 to #1,129 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #2,721 in 2015 to #1,129 in 2025.

In the United States, 855 boys were recorded with the name Dara between 1955 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 48 in 2025; its best national rank was #1,622 in 1985.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #3,663 in 2020 to #2,686 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #8,183 in 2015 to #2,686 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Dara?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 16,000
207 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 7,760
0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#1,129
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
11,102 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Dara sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5003%

Put another way: gather 11,102 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Dara. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Daras were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Dara was born before 1982 — so the typical Dara is around 43 today.

Median birth year
1982
About 43 years old
Biggest decade
1980s
21.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
21.6%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
13,279
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1980s — 21.2% of all recorded uses (2,905).

Is Dara rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−95
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+200
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+1,592
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
3.18×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
45.7%
Peak was 1981 (453)
Years since peak
44
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
27.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#469
1981

Spellings of Dara

Dara is not the most common spelling — Mary is, with 32.7% against Dara's 0.11%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Dara is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Dara was most concentrated in New Jersey — about 1 in 3,571 girls, against 1 in 8,483 across all states with data. It was least common in Ohio (1 in 100,000).

128 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New Jersey1 in 3,571
  2. 2Maryland1 in 3,704
  3. 3Florida1 in 6,250
  4. 4New York1 in 6,250
  5. 5Texas1 in 7,143
  6. 6Virginia1 in 7,143
  7. 7California1 in 7,692
  8. 8Massachusetts1 in 8,333

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Dara is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Dara was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 174,238 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 100,000
  2. 2Massachusetts1 in —
  3. 3New York1 in —
  4. 4Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Dara has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Dara around the world

Where Dara ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #2,006
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1986–2024
    #790
    in 2024
  • Northern Ireland
    1997–2021
    #350
    in 2021
  • Ireland
    1966–2025
    #352
    in 2025
  • France
    1975–2024
    #3,309
    in 2024
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #1,709
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1954–2005
    #775
    in 2005

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Dara

People whose public names include Dara, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Dara in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Dara. Linked forms have their own page here.

DariDoraDaria

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Dara by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#1,129
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 200
Best rank ever
#469
1981
Peak year
1981
453 that year
First recorded
1893
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
13,692
Count in 2025
207

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,686
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 977
Best rank ever
#1,622
1985
Peak year
2025
48 that year
First recorded
1955
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
855
Count in 2025
48

Names similar to Dara

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

DariaDarbyDarcyDarciZaraMaraYaraDarlaLaraDarianDarcieTiaraCaraDarleenAmaraCiaraDariSharaDaryaDarylKaraSamaraDarahAra

Names with a curve like Dara

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Dara, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

JannaValenciaMarlenaCorinaAdrianneAdrianLizaAleciaMaricelaSilviaCoriSuzanna

Sibling names for Dara

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Dara

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