Ara
Masculine · “Armenian”
Ara is given to both — 1,301 boys and 3,565 girls since 1880. See Ara as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Armenian is a branch of Indo-European all by itself. It has no close relatives — not Slavic, not Iranian, not Greek, though it borrowed heavily from Persian — and it is one of only three such isolated branches, alongside Greek and Albanian. Ara is one of its oldest names.
How old is the name Ara?
Ara first appears in US birth records in 1893 — 132 years ago. The typical Ara alive today was born around 1979, making them about 46 years old. About 1,000 people named Ara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ara most popular?
Ara peaked in 1893, reaching #1035 nationally. Today it ranks #7679, 6,644 places below that high. See the whole 1893 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Ara
Armenian separated from the rest of Indo-European early and developed on its own, acquiring so many Persian loanwords that nineteenth-century scholars initially classed it as an Iranian language; it was recognized as an independent branch only in 1875. It has its own alphabet, devised by Mesrop Mashtots around 405, and one of the oldest continuous Christian literary traditions. That isolation is why Armenian names — Ara, Vahan, Hayk, Sarkis, Anahit — look unlike anything else in Europe. American figures for Ara peak in 1893, with Armenian immigration from the Ottoman Empire.
Meaningscholars disagree
Armenian, from a legendary king; of uncertain further sense
Ara Geghetsik, Ara the Beautiful, is a legendary Armenian king whose story appears in the fifth-century History attributed to Movses Khorenatsi. The name's further derivation is not established; connections to a word for noble and to the Armenian god Ar have been proposed. Ara is separately an Arabic name, a Basque surname, and the Latin name of a southern constellation, all unrelated.
Pronouncing Ara
AH-rah
Two syllables, stress on the first, with both vowels open and a lightly tapped r. English speakers sometimes say AIR-uh, which flattens both vowels.
Nicknames for Ara
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1893
- Most boys named
- 197534 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1035reached in 1893
- Change vs 2023
- −50.0%10 in 2025, from 20
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ara in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Արա in Armenian — transliteration
- Ara in Arabic — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Aras among us
people named Ara are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 170,808 born in 2025 was named Ara
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Ara sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Ara beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ara in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is short, three letters, and easy to say in most languages.
- It carries a specific and very old Armenian identity.
- It functions in Armenian, Arabic and Basque contexts alike.
- The meaning is genuinely uncertain beyond the legendary bearer.
- English speakers alter both vowels.
- It reads as unisex to many Americans.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Ara to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Ara? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Ara
Masculine · #7679 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Aras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Ara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ara in 2025?
- Ara ranks #7679 among US boy names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ara?
- About 1 in every 170,808 US boys born in 2025 was named Ara — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ara with classmates?
- Ara will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ara
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Early#7679 · Obie#7679 · Huston#7679 · Knute#7679 · Rance#7679 · Blain#7679 · Doyle#7679 · Millard#7679
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ara? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ara and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle