Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
Impression
Other
I truly adore the name Cara. It has an elegant charm to it, yet still feels young and alive. When I hear the name Cara, I imagine a young and energetic person, with lots of joy in her life. I definitely would consider naming my daughter Cara, or nicknaming her Cara if I named her Caroline or Clara.
Cara Cunningham is the name Chris Crocker chose for herself after she came out as a trans woman in 2021.
Cara may literally mean "face" or "expensive" in both Spanish and Portuguese.
Apart from the meaning "face" in Spanish, it also means "expensive" in its feminine form.EXAMPLE || that wallet is very expensive = esa cartera es muy CaraIn Spanish speaking countries avoid the name because it sounds like a joke, otherwise it's okay.
According to these comments this name means friend in Irish, punishment in Polish, face in Spanish. Please don't punish my face Cara my friend.
…Cara is the exact word for “face” in Spanish. “Tienes algo en tu Cara.” English: “You have something on your face/Cara.” Maybe Catalina or Caralina if your child is Latino/Hispanic.
Also Welsh.
Kara (with a k) means 'punishment' in Polish.
The best pronunciation for me is CAR-ah. CARE-uh is just so ugly. Otherwise, it’s a sweet and memorable name.
Despite being pronounced differently, it also means "way(s)" (noun) in my native language. In that case, it's pronounced Tsah-rah. "Ts" is pronounced like a soft CH as in "CHeek". I won't name my daughter Cara because of what I said.
Decent name.
The usage history of Cara in the USA would seem to show that it was actress Cara Williams who was most responsible for bringing this name to the attention of new parents. She got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1958 for a role in the film "The Defiant Ones". Then she was the star of the TV sitcome "Pete & Gladys" 1960-1962. Though only two seasons were made, it was kept in reruns for several years afterward. And the name took a jump in 1965 just when she had a one year run as star of "The Cara Williams Show".
Cara is indeed also an Irish name.It was discussed in this thread:
https://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/5236990In Italy "cara" is only used as a word but not a name. In Ireland Cara has been in the top 100 since the year 2000.https://www.teanglann.ie/en/fgb/Cara
"cara" is also the Irish word for "friend". Its use in Ireland and the UK seems to be because of this association.See here:
https://www.focloir.ie/en/dictionary/ei/friend#friend__2
https://www.teanglann.ie/en/eid/friend
https://www.teanglann.ie/en/fgb/cara [noted -ed]
This name is just so sweet, I love it!
It’s so pretty! Also, it has the same meaning as my name. :)
Very pretty!
I've always loved this beautiful name. It's soft, feminine, and has a lovely meaning. I hope to name my future daughter Cara one day.
Why would you name your child after a car?
Sweet name that means Beloved. I like it a lot.
I know a girl who pronounces it "Care-uh" I love it pronounced like that best.
Very pretty!
Cara means face in Spanish.
This is my oldest’s name and I love it! Cara Brynn. We know one adult Cara, that’s it! Wonderful name!
I like this name. It's nice and simple.
Short and pretty!
Cara Dune is a character from Star Wars' The Mandalorian on Disney+
I love this name! It is a variant of Carol or Caroline. Or an Irish name meaning beloved. I made up a character named Cara. I can’t stand when people spell it with a K! I don’t like Cara spelled with a K at all and when people make it a K name! I like it best as a C name! C looks softer and is such a beautiful name.
It looks bad with a K and good with a C! And when I see it, it’s usually spelled with a K and very rarely with a C. I don’t get how people fail to connect the name with Carol and Caroline. And how they fail to spell it with a C! They mostly all relate it to Karen for some reason that baffles me! I actually first saw it with a C and have loved it ever since. The Cara I met it was short for Caroline but I like Cara on its own. This is a unique name I love and is one of my favorite names!And I pronounce it care- uh. Rhymes with Sarah which I like too. The first syllable I pronounce like the word care and the first syllables of the name Caroline, because I prefer that.
Cara is a Welsh name and it means love (cariad)❤️.
Kara is better. I mostly hate names that are similar to Sara, Tara, etc.
Cara Nicole Gosselin is the daughter of Jon and Kate from the reality show “Kate Plus Eight”.
In Evelyn Waugh's novel "Brideshead Revisited", Cara is Lord Marchmain's Italian mistress.
In 2018, 25 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Cara who is registered female with the Social Security Administration. It is the 843rd most common female first name for living U.S. citizens.
Cara is a pretty name, but it means face in Spanish, which seems pretty weird for me being a Spanish/English speaker and a bit too plain. Then again, that might be a benefit because I kind of cringe when I hear all these names like Pippin or Maddox that just try too hard to be unique. Cara seems more down-to-earth and I like it.
Cara Mund is Miss America 2018. (She pronounces it KAHR-uh.)
I love the Care-Rah pronunciation.
My name is Cara, I pronounce it Car-ah (as in apple)... I love my name, it's unique. My dad chose it and I'm pleased he used the Italian meaning to inform his selection (beloved). My brothers and sisters use RahRah as a nickname, I become quite a strong minded individual (perhaps leaning towards the Norse meaning there)... either way I couldn't be something else, my middle name was selected to give me the option (Suzanne) but I'd never have made a good Suzie or Annie, I use my first name to identify myself more than my surname I don't think I could be anything else.
I'm from Ireland and in Irish Cara means friend which is ironic to me because I don't/and never have had any friends. I am planning to legally change it.
The name Cara was given to 350 girls born in the US in 2016.
More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Cara are female.
Cara is the name of my youngest daughter, Cara Laraissa (born 1986).
Her mother has Italian roots and liked to have a soundfull name for her.In 1995 I invented a script programing language named CARA (-C-reate -A-ny -R-DBMS -A-pplication = CARA), thinking "what Mr. Carl Benz could do, I can do as well...... he named his make of car after his daughter Mercedes...In the late 90's I saw an internet page "all about Cara" made by a young girl (guess her first name). She had a very big list of organizations and abbreviations and meanings of "Cara". Unfortunately I can not find it any more. But perhaps this is a good place to gather them all again.
Cara Williams (born Bernice Kamiat) is a retired American actress.
My name is Cara-Mary and I love my name. I go by Cara, I found it easier that way. I pronounce my name Kah-rah and I often tell people like a Car, as I motion a steering wheel. Helps people remember. I have only met one other Cara that spells and pronounces it the same! A magical day, haha. Other Cara's that I have met have pronounced it care-uh and they are lovely. We usually laugh and share that I get care-a and she gets car-a all the time.
My father was born and raised in southern Ireland and met my Mom in London while acting. They had my older brother in London and then had me in... America, haha random. They named me Cara after the opera "I Puritani" a song called "A te, o Cara". I am blessed to be a Cara and I think all versions of the name are beautiful and unique in their own way.
My parents came across my name when reading CARA at the Indy 500 (a car race). There's a racing association with the abbreviation CARA. At the race one year I got earrings with CARA on it and a checkered flag.
I love the name Cara! It sounds amazing. And Cara Delevingne is an awesome bearer. :)
Cara Delevingne (born 1992) is an English fashion model, actress, and singer.
This name is also Irish.
Cara is the name of a character in The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. She's my favorite character, personally.
My name is Cara and it is most definitely an Irish name, not an English name! That's why my parents named me Cara, because of its Irish meaning of Friend. I love my name because of its meaning and because of how unique it is. When I was little I hated my name because I knew nobody with the same name as me but now as I'm older I absolutely love it. I pronounce it CA-RAH.
It's a nice name, but I find it a bit 'over too quickly' for some reason.
My first name is Cara. I pronounce it CAR-RUH. My second name is Florence meaning that my two names together mean Beloved Flower, which I think is really pretty. My dad chose my first name and my middle name is passed down through the family :)
My name is Cara. While I like the name, it can get annoying having to correct people on the pronunciation. I didn't have a problem with this until I was ten. Then suddenly everyone was saying 'CAR-uh' instead of 'CARE-uh'. To make matters worse, people seemed to start thinking it was supposed to be 'Carol' or 'Karen' or 'Carla' or some other vaguely similar name. Then the spelling issues came up and it's gotten to the point where I spell my name every time someone asks for it just to deal with that issue right away. Once I was told by some fool that I was actually spelling my own name wrong and it should be a K not a C. I'm ambivalent about the lack of nicknames associated with it. On the one hand, I'm not really at risk of anyone insisting on using a name I don't care for. On the other, I like the idea of being able to use a nickname that is based on a given name if/when said given name doesn't fit well anymore. That way the name my parents gave me would be in use in some fashion and not just on legal documents. Anyway, I'm not saying all this to dissuade anyone from giving their child this name. I think it's a nice, fairly uncommon name (I've met maybe three or four people with this name in almost twenty-four years of living) with some lovely meanings, but it's always good to know that even simple, four-letter names like Cara can cause difficulties down the road. For me, it's more a lesson in not worrying about your child's name problems in that way because even the simple names that seem safe enough can have issues. If you enjoy a name, use it. Simple as that.
The word "Cara" is modern Irish for "Friend". This is a parallel origin for the name, and the main origin in Ireland and other Gaelic / Celtic populations.
I love this nome. I don't like the pronunciation CAR-ra. To me it sounds harsh. I prefer CARE-ra.
I have also seen it spelled Carra and pronounced car-uh. I hate it either way.
I feel that for the sake of all, BTN should include the Irish meaning (as well as other valid meanings) of Cara as well. I really like that my name has multiple meanings and I think users shouldn't have to look at the comments to see all of them (some of which are a tad dubious, if you ask me).
It's simple but lovely. I quite like it.
I don't care what this name means because it's an ugly name. Weird best describes this name!
I absolutely LOVE this name! I think it's the perfect name for a daughter because it means beloved... Beautiful!
Cara is the name of Lord Marchmain's (Alexander's) French Mistress in Evelyn Waugh's novel "Brideshead Revisited".
It means beloved and I like that as well as the sound of it. It kind of intrigues me too. It's a good name.
Great name and meanings. Why choose the K instead of its intended way with a C. I think the C makes it adorable and very meaningful, that is, all the wonderful meanings this beautiful name has.
This name sounds nice, but, mostly due to the various meanings of Cara in other languages, I prefer the spelling Kara.
Face in Spanish,
Beloved in Italian,
Friend in Irish,
In all in all,
Cara can mean Face of Beloved Friend.
The German pronunciation is KAH-rah. [noted -ed]
It seems that Cara was used traditionally by Jews around the Mediterranean basin whose ancestors lived in Spain until the late Middle Ages. This is from "The Jewish Encyclopedia" (1904):
"They bear exclusively Spanish given names, as Aleqria, Angel, Angela, Amado, Amada, Bienvenida, Blanco, Cara, Cimfa, Comprado, Consuela, Dolza, Esperanza, Estimada, Estrella, Fermosa, Gracia, Luna, Niña, Palomba, Preciosa, Sol, Ventura, and Zafiro; and such Spanish surnames as Belmonte, Benveniste, Bueno, Calderon, Campos, Cardoso, Castro, Curiel, Delgado, Fonseca, Cordova, Leon, Lima, Mercado, Monzon, Rocamora, Pacheco, Pardo, Pereira, Pinto, Prado, Sousa, Suasso, Toledano, Tarragona, Valencia, and Zaporta."
Cara is also a Spanish word that means face, the noun not the verb. I like this name much better spelled Kara rather than Cara.
Cara is Norse for "song of the swan" or "swan maiden". Cara was one of the Valkyries who took fallen battle heroes to their reward in Valhalla. The phrase "swan song" used to describe someone's last hurrah comes from this. This name is also spelled Kara.
To the anonymous person above who claims Cara to be a Norse name having to do Valkyries and swan songs. Just... no! It has nothing to do with that and it's not even close. Cara/Kara is not a Nordic name. If anything it sounds remotely close to the Danish word Kære which means dear (it's something similar in Swedish and Norwegian but I don't remember how to spell that). But it's never been a Norse name. It's pretty and I like it - but Norse? No.
To the person claiming that the name is NOT Norse, and being so persistent about it- Why not google it for yourself before you make such a bombastic claim. Sure the norse name is not spelled Cara, it´s Kára, and its meaning is "the wild, stormy one". Cara/Kara is the kind of name that is so simple that it's no wonder there are different origins to the name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kára.
Cara can mean either "face" or "expensive" in Spanish.
My name is Caroline and this is my nickname. I really like it, and I don't hear many people with this nickname. Care is also a nickname I use.
Probably because I am Irish, I prefer the pronunciation Car-a. Care-uh sounds weird to me. Either way (Care-uh or Car-a) it's not an English name.
Cara is one of the cute little Asian girls on Jon and Kate Plus 8.
To that anonymous user up there who mentioned Jon and Kate plus 8: Neither Cara, nor anyone else in the family, is Asian. For one thing, the kids aren't even all the way Asian, and also were born and so far raised in Pennsylvania. Last time I checked, Pennsylvania is not in Asia. Just saying.
I don't know why you consider someone of Asian descent not to be Asian. I am like the Gosselin kids, born & raised in the U.S. with one or more Asian parents. And I am proud of it.
Don't like this name. Too many possible meanings in many languages! It sounds weird.
A famous bearer of this name is Irish Folk singer Cara Dillon.
Carah Faye is the vocalist in the California electronica band Shiny Toy Guns.
Cara Hunter is the main character in Bruce Coville's book series, the Unicorn Chronicles.
My sister and I are 'Irish Twins' and we have matching tattoos that say 'anam Cara' which means 'soul friends.'
Cara, Latin for delightful.
I like this name. It is pretty. I have a cat named Caramel and her nickname is Cara-Marinara, but sometimes I just call her Cara.
In Scotland, the pseudo-Irish spelling Caragh is also fairly popular.
Best name ever.
My middle name is Cara, I don't pronounce it cahr-uh or cair-uh. I pronounce it Ca-ruh, the a as in the word 'pack'.
It also means both "face" and "expensive" in Spanish.
It's my name, and I love it. I used to hate it when I was young because it wasn't common where I live, but now I think it's nice because there are a few people with the name but it's not over-popular. and I pronounce it KAHR-a.
This is a great name. I prefer the pronunciation of "CAR-rah". It makes it sound sexier and more interesting to me. Makes the whole name more different and unique. I know a little girl with this name and she is so lovely and smart!
"Cara" could be a short form of "Carina".
My mom's name is Carra. My grandma thought Cara was too short.
I think it is a beautiful name and my mom's is pronounced Care-Ah.
I have twins, one of them is called Cara, I think it is a beautiful name, and the other is Mia. Caramia means my beloved.
My middle name is Cara. My full name (Rachel Cara) means ewe beloved (friend).
My name is Cara and I love it. My dad chose the name, what happened was he decided he had met a lot of nice people called Caroline, Carol, Carolyn etc. and when he couldn't decide he called me Cara. I love my name because it's quite uncommon also it can't be shortened, hehehe.
I think that the pronunciation KAHR-a sounds spicier than the KER-a, which sounds more homey.
In many Romance languages "cara" means both "dear" and "expensive", due to the thought that if you spend a lot on something, you will want to keep it close/dear to you.
Cara means "expensive" in Spanish.
And then there's the Scottish Gaelic, "Caraid" (KAR-aj) ("friend"), which is a variant of the Irish Gaelic Cara.Yes, I think that we know the obvious Italian "Cara": "darling, beloved". I pronounce it either way, but I prefer "KAHR-a"
My name is Cara. I pronounce it Kair-uh, as in CARE-uh, NOT Kahr-uh as in car-uh. [noted -ed]
Cara is also a Spanish/Latin female name which means "face," but when a parent gives this name to female child it means "beautiful face." It is pronounced the same as Italian version (Cara Mia!).
Italian origin, meaning: "Cherished and Beloved One"
I pronounce this name "kair-a", not "kahr-a".

Comments are left by users of this website. They are not checked for accuracy.

Add a Comment