Comments for the name Tara (1)

Two famous bearers of this name are actress Tara Reid (American Pie) and champion figure skater Tara Lipinski.

The name Tara can actually be originated from Terra, which in Latin means Earth. I am not quite sure how Terrible and Terror came into the midst of such a beautiful name!

This name is not even remotely derived from the Latin word "terra" - it existed in Sanskrit long before Latin was even thought of. It is correctly pronounced Tah-rah by everyone in the world, except for some Americans who have heard it mis-pronounced in the movie "Gone with the Wind".

Terra meaning earth in Latin and the Gaelic Tara are completely different names, and often pronounced differently.

American model, actress and singer Carmen Electra was born Tara Leigh Patrick.

This is a very pretty name, I pronounce it TER-a.

Tara Fitzgerald is a famous British actress (Brassed Off, The Englishman who Went up a Hill, but Came down a Mountain).

Tara appeared on the top 1000 list in the 1950's. Its most popular year was the 1970's where it ranked 43.

I understand this is the anglicized spelling of the Gaelic word, but still, I don't believe the usage of the name is English. The name "Tara" is still an Irish name, not English, because it's still an Irish place that the name comes from. This is my middle name, and I don't think of it as an English name, just as I wouldn't the name Erin, or Shannon. Even if the spelling isn't Irish Gaelic, I do believe the name still is, or at least is shared with the English usage.

I hate Tara said TERRA or Te-ra it should be said TAR-a or Tah-ra. Pronunciations get very twisted.

Tah-ruh/tah-rah. That's how it was always pronounced for me. But sometimes a real Irish person will pronounce it tore-rah/ta[long a]-raaa.

This name is nice, it's my name and I always thought it looked funny with an h at the end. Although in my junior and senior year of high school I started adding the h to it, since you can't really have a nickname with this name. My name is Tara Lynn and it flows nicely. Very popular combination. I am Irish. It also means tower, hill, and other things from looking it up over the years.

Tara Strong, a famous voice artist (Teen Titans, Fairly OddParents, Kim Possible, TMNT, I can go on for hours), is a famous bearer of this name.
Her website is www.theofficialtarastrong.com.

I've heard Irish folk-legends that Tara is the home of fairies or where fairies originated.

On a side note, I am American and I pronounce it tah-ruh. I do have cousins in Virginia though who pronounce it tair-uh, but I don't think that is a pronunciation lapse, just a southern accent.

I think Tara has a good meaning, but I'm not crazy over the way it sounds.

My name is Tara pronounced like Terra. Although I understand why, it's always bothered me that people would pronounce it Tahr-a. Nobody would ever pronounce Sara as Sahr-a! Tahr-a sounds too much like retarded for me.

Tara is also a girls name in Slovenia; in the top 100 in 2005-2006.

I like it for the Gone With the Wind association but I dislike that it is teased with "Tara new one" as in "Tear a new one."

Tara Maclay is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Amber Benson.

Tara Markov, better known as "Terra" was a DC Comics superhero/supervillain from the pages of Teen Titans. "Terra" is a play on her own name influenced by her superpower, terrakinesis.

The name itself is actually really cool, but I've gotten the impression that it's not the name of particularly intelligent girls and women. Tara Reid is probably to blame, but this is also the real name of Carmen Electra, and while she is nice enough, she doesn't strike me as a particularly witty person. I have even thought this name sounds like that of a porn star, but my impressions have gotten toned down after realizing that the name is not an American invention anyway.

I don't like this name because it spells 'a rat' backwards.

Sorry but what comes to mind is ta ra ra ... boom de ay! ta ra ra ... boom de ay! LOL

This name is also German (I knew several girls from Germany with this name.) To BellaTara, the words terrible and terror come from the Latin perterritus, which means frightened.

Also a Maori word relating to the vagina.

I pronounced it TAR-uh. If you are gonna pronounce it TER-uh then spell it Tera because Like Kara I don't say KER-UH I say Kar-Uh. Its pretty and like Sara I say SAR-uh not SER-uh. I like Tara a lot.

Pronounced Tara (Tar-a) After reading all of these posts I must give some facts. The origin of the Tara is Irish. Tara (Tar-a) was a tower in a village near Dublin, Ireland. Irish people use hard vowels, so Tar-a is correct to the land.
Gone with the Wind came along in the 30's and Scarlet with her fake southern accent mixed with her native English accent, came out Terra. From that point on everyone took that mis-pronunciation as correct, but it is NOT!
If you are named after the movie then of course saying Terra would be correct. But the name is Irish and please accept that as fact!
I have had many friends visit Ireland and have brought me books back from the Tower of Tara. I understand they will correct you over there if you say Terra (even they don't like what Gone with the Wind has done to such a beautiful name).
Side note: Does anyone spell Terra Cotta as Tara Cotta? No!

What those who are complaining about the pronunciation of this name as "Terra" are overlooking is that there is considerable variation of the pronunciation of vowels in various accents of English (as in any language that is spoken over a large enough area). In the U.S., for example, some pronounce the words "merry," "marry" and "Mary" alike; others, differently. People who do not make the distinction might have a different idea of exactly which sound they use than those who do. (I hope that's clear.)

I use this name as a short form of Atarah, the name of my "fursona" (the animal form of my artist's persona). It's short, simple, and pretty, and it rolls off the tongue nicely. I like the fact that its meaning can be related to the meaning of Atarah; "crowned." In America, it's common for people to pronounce this name TARE-ah, but I for one prefer the original pronunciation.

Also used in Croatia.

Tara means country in Romanian.

It is a incredibly ordinary, bland name. "Tara," "K/Cara," "Sara"... I fail to see any appeal. Simple is, at times, fantastic-- though not in this case.
My mind's eye is unable to correspond it to a successful business woman. It is just a very infantile, unprofessional, and disgustingly common name (there certainly are lovely people who bear it, regardless). I can easily see Miss Big Sister (four years old) awaiting the arrival of a baby sister and eagerly wishing to dub the poor thing "Tara."

Has it occurred to you that the likelihood of "Tara" being converted into a tease of "Tarantula/TARAntula" is alarmingly high?

My mother chose Tara from "Gone With the Wind" and then changed it a bit to Taryn (which she had never heard of). Later she heard of Tyrone Power's daughter but I think Taryn for me comes more from the meaning of Tara. I really like the name now but as a child not knowing anyone with this name I didn't think much of my mother's "made-up" name.

English pronunciation is "TAH-ra". American pronunciation of this name is horrible.

It's a nice name, but unfortunately I associate it with the trashy Tara Reid.

Not just for girls, Tara Browne was the son of a member of the House of Lords and the heir to the Guinness fortune who sadly died whilst speeding through South Kensington.
His death inspired the John Lennon section of A Day in the Life.

I know someone named this and they pronounce it TER-uh.

Also a Serbian name after the Tara mountain in Serbia.