Dhara
Feminine · “the earth”
Dhara is a Sanskrit word, and there are in fact two of them a hair apart: one means the earth, the other a continuous stream. Both are in use as names and the difference is a vowel length that English cannot show.
How old is the name Dhara?
Dhara first appears in US birth records in 1985 — 40 years ago. The typical Dhara alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 600 people named Dhara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dhara most popular?
Dhara peaked in 2025, reaching #3211 nationally. Today it ranks #3211, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Dhara
Both words are built on the same root, meaning to hold or to bear: the earth holds everything up, and a stream holds a continuous line. Both appear in Sanskrit literature from the earliest layers, and both have been used as women's names in India for a long time. Gujarati and Marathi families use Dhara particularly often, and it reaches American records from western India above all.
Meaningscholars disagree
the earth, or a flowing stream
Sanskrit dhara, with a short first vowel, is the earth — that which holds. Dhara with a long first vowel is a stream, a downpour or a continuous flow. Roman spelling collapses the two, so a family knows which it means and a reader does not.
Pronouncing Dhara
DHAH-rah
Two syllables, first stressed. The dh is a single breathy consonant, not a d followed by an h; English speakers usually say DAR-uh.
Nicknames for Dhara
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
- 1985
- Most girls named
- 202549 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3211reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +75.0%49 in 2025, from 28
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.
Dhara in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Dhara in Hindi — transliteration
- Dhara in Gujarati — same name
- Dharaa in Sanskrit — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Florida.
Dharas among us
people named Dhara are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 32,801 born in 2025 was named Dhara
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Marit test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Dhara's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Marit climbed just as high around 1967, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Marit's path sketches the road Dhara is walking now.
Dhara 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 Dhara is headed
Dhara looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 18% 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.
Dhara beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dhara in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two settled Sanskrit meanings, both concrete and both good.
- Five letters and two syllables, short by the standards of Sanskrit names.
- Widely used in western India, so it has a real community that knows it exactly.
- The dh is a genuine Indian consonant that English does not have, and it will be flattened to d.
- Dhara, Dhaara and Dara all appear, and the last is an unrelated name.
- The two meanings differ by a vowel length the Roman spelling cannot carry.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Dhara 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 Dhara? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Dhara
Feminine · #3211 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Dharas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Dhara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dhara in 2025?
- Dhara ranks #3211 among US girl names in 2025, with 49 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dhara?
- About 1 in every 32,801 US girls born in 2025 was named Dhara — 49 in all.
- Will my child share the name Dhara with classmates?
- Dhara will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Dhara
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jalaya#3211 · Quetzalli#3211 · Amyah#3211 · Kristine#3211 · Janelly#3211 · Dariela#3211 · Gladys#3211 · Auri#3211
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dhara? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dhara 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