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I like Mara if it's MAHra. Rhyming it with Sarah kills it stone dead.

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I was at school with a very nice Mara so that might influence me. But I think it's perfectly usable.

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I've always found Sarah bleak, but I do "prefer" it to Sara.
C/Kara are dated and were always lightweight.
Tara? Those swelling violins? The Oirish connection? No, and no.
Dara and Dahra are new to me, and I don't enjoy them.
Lara is so close to the lovely Laura but not close enough. And her theme tune isn't as nice as Tara's.
Yara and Vara I must ignore out of sheer ignorance.
Fara looks incomplete. Farrah is dated and silly.
Zara looks invented, though I know it isn't. Zahrah looks like sand dunes. No to both.

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I say MAH-ra and I think it's a really beautiful name. I had a friend named this all through middle and high school, and it was certainly distinctive at the time and the name itself was near its peak popularity in the US with my birth year.

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Amara is about equally popular now, as Mara was then, and it might not be quite so distinctive from that, but it doesn't seem like too many rhyming names are floating around the tops of the charts.

Me gusta! Sadly, I've heard some Buddhists call the devil Mara.

I really like Mara, and the meaning is kind of cool, IMO. But then, I take a liking to a lot of less-than-pretty meanings. :P

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I pronounce is MAR-ah, and I don't think it has much in common with Sarah, Cara, or Tara. Those are pro. differently in my neck of the woods.

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I like...

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Mara
Sarah
Cara
Tara
Dara
Lara

I like it. It's definitely distinctive. I've only ever met one.
I'd pronounce it MAR uh, like the word mar, to rhyme with scar and star and far - but the one I know is American and pronounces it more like Marra.

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I think all the names on your list are okay. Sara here is also pronounced to rhyme with scar, whereas Sarah is SAIR uh. No idea why!

As MAH-rah, I love it. As MAIR-ah, I think it's kind of whiny and ugly. And it reminds me of a mare.

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From your list, I love Mara, Sarah, Dara, Lara, and Zara (all with an -ahra ending except for Sarah). Dahra is a right mess and I don't know what to make of Fara, Yara, and Vara, but the others are fine.

I love Mara and prefer the Irish meaning 'of the sea'./ Not keen on any of the other names.

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I like it prn 'mar-ah' but where I live it would be prn 'mah-rah'.

I like the meaning. I interpret it as bitterness from having gone through something very hard, but having the strength to get through it and overcome it. I pronounce it MAR-a, so neither option of yours but closer to the first way. I had a Mara in my class in 2nd grade and that's how she said it. I've always thought it was very pretty.

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Of those I like Mara, Sarah, and Sara. I like Dara for a boy. Cara, Kara, Tara, and Fara/Farrah are the only ones I'd say are dated, and Yara and Vara are somewhat unusable. Mostly because I've never heard of them.

I pronounce Mara as MAR-uh. MAR to rhyme with "car." I don't like it pronounced like Sarah at all. I do like the name though. I think it's pretty and romantic sounding. It's definitely distinctive enough and a nice alternative to Mary.

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Sarah / Sara bores me to death. The only name I like on the list is Lara, and only a little bit.