Didn't your mother know if that student was Japanese or
German?
Could be forms of
Dara,
Daria or
Dareia, or something different altogether.
"You sought a flower and found a fruit. You sought a spring and found a sea. You sought a woman and found a soul. You are disappointed."
"It does not become me to make myself smaller than I am." (
Edith Södergran 1891-1923)