Cara: Meaning, Pronunciation and Origin
Cara is an Irish girl's name meaning “friend.” Here’s how to say it, where it comes from, and names that go well with it.
Updated September 2026
- Meaning
- Friend
- Gender
- Girl
- Also spelled
- Caragh, Caera
- Popularity in Ireland
- No. 52 for girls (2025)
How do you pronounce Cara?
Cara is pronounced CAR-a. It has two syllables, with the stress on the first. It can also be said KEER-a. Other spellings: Caragh and Caera.
What does Cara mean?
Cara comes from the Irish word cara, “friend.” It is still an everyday word: letters in Irish open with a chara, “my friend” or “dear sir,” and anam cara, “soul friend,” gave the Irish poet John O’Donohue’s 1997 book on Celtic spirituality its title. The plural is cairde, “friends.”
The name has a second root outside Ireland, since cara means “dear” or “beloved” in Italian. English speakers have used Cara as a first name since the 19th century, though it only became common after the 1950s. Caragh is an Irish spelling of the name, and Kara is a common English variant.
Sources: Ó Dónaill's Irish dictionary (teanglann.ie), Behind the Name, Wikipedia.
How popular is Cara in Ireland?
In 2025, 94 baby girls in Ireland were named Cara, which made it No. 52 that year. That's down from No. 36 ten years earlier. It was most popular in 2023, when 157 baby girls were named Cara, No. 27 that year. The most babies got the name in 2015: 185. It first appears in the records in 1966, with 4 baby girls.
See the numbers by year
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 94 | No. 52 (Cara) |
| 2024 | 118 | No. 37 (Cara) |
| 2023 | 157 | No. 27 (Cara) |
| 2022 | 155 | No. 33 (Cara) |
| 2021 | 155 | No. 33 (Cara) |
| 2020 | 135 | No. 36 (Cara) |
| 2019 | 176 | No. 31 (Cara) |
| 2018 | 184 | No. 29 (Cara) |
| 2017 | 162 | No. 34 (Cara) |
| 2016 | 181 | No. 34 (Cara) |
| 2015 | 185 | No. 36 (Cara) |
| 2014 | 165 | No. 35 (Cara) |
| 2013 | 160 | No. 40 (Cara) |
| 2012 | 148 | No. 48 (Cara) |
| 2011 | 155 | No. 50 (Cara) |
| 2010 | 144 | No. 52 (Cara) |
| 2009 | 123 | No. 58 (Cara) |
| 2008 | 115 | No. 61 (Cara) |
| 2007 | 96 | No. 68 (Cara) |
| 2006 | 91 | No. 67 (Cara) |
| 2005 | 87 | No. 66 (Cara) |
| 2004 | 76 | No. 73 (Cara) |
| 2003 | 60 | No. 86 (Cara) |
| 2002 | 49 | No. 101 (Cara) |
| 2001 | 53 | No. 91 (Cara) |
| 2000 | 48 | No. 92 (Cara) |
| 1999 | 36 | No. 110 (Cara) |
| 1998 | 21 | No. 166 (Cara) |
| 1997 | 24 | No. 189 (Cara) |
| 1996 | 23 | No. 192 (Cara) |
| 1995 | 26 | No. 167 (Cara) |
| 1994 | 16 | No. 227 (Cara) |
| 1993 | 21 | No. 193 (Cara) |
| 1992 | 17 | No. 229 (Cara) |
| 1991 | 15 | No. 244 (Cara) |
| 1990 | 14 | No. 249 (Cara) |
| 1989 | 12 | No. 272 (Cara) |
| 1988 | 13 | No. 270 (Cara) |
| 1987 | 16 | No. 242 (Cara) |
| 1986 | 14 | No. 263 (Cara) |
| 1985 | 8 | No. 348 (Cara) |
| 1984 | 18 | No. 230 (Cara) |
| 1983 | 14 | No. 267 (Cara) |
| 1982 | 12 | No. 300 (Cara) |
| 1981 | 17 | No. 251 (Cara) |
| 1980 | 18 | No. 245 (Cara) |
| 1979 | 20 | No. 230 (Cara) |
| 1978 | 14 | No. 266 (Cara) |
| 1977 | 15 | No. 254 (Cara) |
| 1976 | 13 | No. 263 (Cara) |
| 1975 | 19 | No. 221 (Cara) |
| 1974 | 30 | No. 190 (Cara) |
| 1973 | 16 | No. 248 (Cara) |
| 1972 | 10 | No. 285 (Cara) |
| 1971 | 9 | No. 289 (Cara) |
| 1970 | 4 | No. 396 (Cara) |
| 1969 | 7 | No. 303 (Cara) |
| 1968 | 4 | No. 357 (Cara) |
| 1967 | 3 | No. 393 (Cara) |
| 1966 | 4 | No. 344 (Cara) |
Cara in Ogham
Ogham is the oldest way of writing Irish. It was carved along the edges of standing stones, mostly between the 4th and 6th centuries, and read from the bottom up. In later tradition each letter was named after a tree or plant. Here’s Cara, letter by letter.
- CColl, hazel
- AAilm, pine
- RRuis, elder
- AAilm, pine
Write any name in Ogham with our Ogham translator
Names that go with Cara
Questions about Cara
- How do you pronounce Cara?
- Cara is pronounced CAR-a. Two syllables, stress on the first.
- What does Cara mean?
- Cara means “friend.”
- Is Cara a girl's name or a boy's name?
- Cara is a girl's name.
- How popular is Cara in Ireland?
- In 2025, Cara was No. 52 for girls in Ireland, with 94 babies, according to the Central Statistics Office. It was most popular in 2023, at No. 27.