Karra
Feminine
Karra is four letters that mean something in a surprising number of languages. In Italian it is close to the word for dear; in Irish, to the word for friend; in Turkish it is black; and in Japanese kara means empty — which is the kara in karaoke, a word that is half Japanese and half English and means empty orchestra.
How old is the name Karra?
Karra first appears in US birth records in 1956 — 69 years ago. The typical Karra alive today was born around 1992, making them about 33 years old. About 1,000 people named Karra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Karra most popular?
Karra peaked in 1985, reaching #2704 nationally. See the whole 1985 chart.
Where it comes from
From Cara and Kara in use as English names to Karra
The story of Karra
Karaoke is worth knowing about because it is such a clean piece of word-building. Kara means empty, and oke is the front of the Japanese borrowing of the English word orchestra — so the whole thing means empty orchestra, a band with a hole in it where the singer should be. The machines appeared in Japanese bars in the early 1970s and the word traveled with them, arriving in English in the 1980s with its two halves intact and completely invisible. Almost nobody who uses the word has any idea that one half of it is their own language coming home.
Meaningnot established
Not established
An American family choosing this spelling in the middle of the last century was almost certainly writing Cara or Kara by ear rather than reaching for any of these languages, and the doubled r is decoration. What the collisions show is something about short names generally: four letters is not much room, and any sequence that short will land on a real word in several unrelated languages. That is not evidence of descent, and it is regularly presented as if it were.
How the name formed
- Cara and Kara in use as English names
- the same letters mean different things in four languages
- Karra appears in the record in the 1950s
- peaks in the middle 1980s
- rarely given since
Related forms: Kara · Cara · Cara
Pronouncing Karra
KAR-uh
Two syllables, stress at the front. The doubled r pushes the first vowel towards the one in carry rather than the one in car, which is the only thing it does.
Nicknames for Karra
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
- 1956
- Most girls named
- 198940 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2704reached in 1985
- Change vs 2022
- −58.3%5 in 2023, from 12
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.
Karra in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kara in English — spelling variant
- Cara in English — spelling variant
- Cara in Italian — related form
Karras among us
people named Karra are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Karra sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Five letters, two syllables and no possible mispronunciation.
- It is read correctly in English and recognized in several other languages.
- The doubled consonant settles the first vowel, which the standard spelling leaves open.
- Kara and Cara are both commoner and the extra letter will be dropped.
- None of the foreign meanings can honestly be claimed as the name's own.
- It is closely dated to the second half of the last century.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Karra 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 Karra? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Karra
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Karras 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 Karra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Karra in 2025?
- Karra is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Karra with classmates?
- Karra will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Karra? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Karra 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