Dara
Feminine
Dara is given to both — 13,692 girls and 855 boys since 1880. See Dara as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Dara is one of those short names that several unrelated traditions arrived at independently: an Irish name from the word for oak, a Khmer name meaning star, a Persian name behind the Greek Darius, and a name listed in the Hebrew of 1 Chronicles. Two syllables, four letters, nothing to spell twice — and it has been on American records continuously for well over a century without ever crowding a classroom.
How old is the name Dara?
Dara first appears in US birth records in 1893 — 132 years ago. The typical Dara alive today was born around 1982, making them about 43 years old. About 13,000 people named Dara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dara most popular?
Dara peaked in 1981, reaching #469 nationally. Today it ranks #1129, 660 places below that high. See the whole 1981 chart.
Dara appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Dáire to Dara
The story of Dara
The Irish line is the oldest one traceable in Europe: Dáire, an early Gaelic name tied to the word for oak, survives in the surname Mac Dara and was anglicized to Dara. Quite separately, Persian Dārā — the form behind the Greek Darius — was carried into South Asia, where the seventeenth-century Mughal prince Dara Shikoh, eldest son of Shah Jahan, made it widely known. In Cambodia, Dara arrived through Sanskrit tārā, 'star', and is used for men and women. American records collect all of these under one spelling, and have counted Dara mainly on the girls' side since the nineteenth century.
Meaningscholars disagree
depends on the tradition: 'oak' (Irish), 'star' (Khmer, from Sanskrit tārā), 'possessor' (Persian)
Irish Dáire, anglicized Dara, is connected to daur, 'oak', and to the sense 'fruitful'. Khmer Dara comes from Sanskrit tārā, 'star'. Persian Dārā, the name behind Greek Darius, is read as 'possessing, holding'. And Dara appears in 1 Chronicles as one of the sons of Zerah, where the Hebrew meaning is not established. None of these is a corruption of another; they are separate names that met at one spelling.
How the name formed
- Dáire
- Mac Dara
- Dara
Related forms: Dáire · دارا (Dārā) · ដារា · דָּרַע (Dara) · Dara · Dareios
Pronouncing Dara
DAH-ruh
DAH-ruh follows the Irish and Khmer pronunciations. Many American speakers say DAIR-uh, on the pattern of Sara and Tara. Both are in real use, so it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people toward.
Nicknames for Dara
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 girls named
- 1982321 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #469reached in 1981
- Change vs 2023
- +93.5%207 in 2025, from 107
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.
Dara in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Dáire in Irish — related form
- دارا (Dārā) in Persian — transliteration
- ដារា in Khmer — transliteration
- דָּרַע (Dara) in Hebrew — transliteration
- Dara in Serbian — related form
- Dareios in Greek — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Daras among us
people named Dara are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 7,765 born in 2025 was named Dara
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Dara
- #1129
- Dara on the 2025 chart
- #723
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Dara went to 207 girls in 2025, but Darah is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 239, which makes it the 723rd most-given girls’ name of the year — 406 places above the chart.
- Dara207
- Darah32
About 1 girl in 6,725 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 7,765 for Dara itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Joelle test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Dara's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Joelle climbed just as high around 1966, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Joelle's path sketches the road Dara is walking now.
Dara 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
Where Dara is headed
Dara looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 15% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Dara beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dara in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters, two syllables, spelled the way it sounds in either common pronunciation — very little chance of a misspelling once heard.
- Genuinely at home in Irish, Persian, Khmer and Slavic naming traditions, so it travels without translation.
- An unbroken presence in American records stretching back to the nineteenth century, never fashionable enough to date a child to one decade.
- Short enough to need no nickname, with Dar available if one is wanted.
- Two pronunciations circulate — DAH-ruh and DAIR-uh — and neither is wrong. Expect a lifetime of small corrections whichever one you choose.
- It sits close to Tara, Sara, Dana and Darla in the ear, and gets heard as one of them over the phone.
- In Ireland, Iran and Cambodia, Dara is largely a man's name, while US records count it mainly for girls. That rarely causes trouble day to day, but it can surprise people meeting the name in writing first.
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What they receive
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Dara
Feminine · #1129 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Daras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 13,000 people named Dara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Dara?
- Dara is the most-used spelling in US records — 207 of the 239 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Darah.
- How popular is the name Dara in 2025?
- Dara ranks #1129 among US girl names in 2025, with 207 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dara?
- About 1 in every 7,765 US girls born in 2025 was named Dara — 207 in all.
- Will my child share the name Dara with classmates?
- Dara will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Dara
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Valley#1129 · Lucie#1129 · Kaya#1132 · Hollis#1132 · Sailor#1132 · Dior#1125 · Kit#1125 · Vivianna#1125
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dara? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dara and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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