Tara: Meaning of Baby Name Tara

About the Name Tara

Tara is an Irish and Gaelic place-name whose meaning is rooted in the landscape: the ancient site of the Hill of Tara (Teamhair in Irish) in County Meath, Ireland, was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland in Celtic tradition, and the name is understood as meaning "rocky hill" or "from the crag of a tower." Tara thus carries strong resonance in Irish cultural memory as a name associated with sovereignty, ancient kingship, and the sacred geography of the island. Beyond Ireland, the name also has Sanskrit roots — tara in Sanskrit means "star" — and is the name of a Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion, giving it additional spiritual depth across different cultural traditions.

On the US Social Security charts, Tara first entered the top-1000 in 1970 and peaked in 1977 at rank #35 — a rise that coincides with a broader wave of Irish and Celtic names becoming fashionable in American culture during the 1970s. Its total top-1000 births across the tracked run exceed 135,000. The name remained in the top-1000 through 2017, when it appeared at #984 — a run of nearly five decades that reflects the name's genuine staying power beyond its 1970s peak.

Tara carries a particular romantic quality in American cultural memory, partly through its association with Tara, the plantation home in Gone with the Wind — a connection that preceded its mid-century naming surge and likely contributed to its appeal. Its short, open two syllables and cross-cultural resonance give it an effortlessly accessible quality. Recorded variants include Taralynn and Tarrah.

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.

Quick Facts About Tara

276

Gaelic baby names in our dictionary

66

Gaelic female names

99

4-letter T-names in our dictionary

369

T-female names total

1970–2025

years of US SSA records (39 total)

136,275

total US births named Tara (all years)

US Popularity History (1970–2025)

Annual US births named Tara by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 1972 with 7,234 girls named Tara (girl rank #38 that year).

Where it stands today: in 2025, ranked #847 for girls (322 US births). That's 809 places below its 1972 peak.

Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.

Where in the US Is Tara Most Popular?

Average girl-name rank within each state across 2016–2025 SSA records. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's girls-name rankings — a per-capita measure that isn't biased toward large states. For Tara the strongest states are Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland.

Strongest girls-name states

#	State	Avg rank	Births
1	Connecticut	#566	17
2	Massachusetts	#629	72
3	Maryland	#637	26
4	Washington	#721	76
5	New York	#738	164
6	New Jersey	#758	86
7	California	#766	405
8	Colorado	#792	21
9	Illinois	#803	93
10	Michigan	#980	24

Weakest girls-name states

#	State	Avg rank	Births
1	Michigan	#980	24
2	Illinois	#803	93
3	Colorado	#792	21
4	California	#766	405
5	New Jersey	#758	86
6	New York	#738	164
7	Washington	#721	76
8	Maryland	#637	26
9	Massachusetts	#629	72
10	Connecticut	#566	17

Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. States with fewer than 3 years of data for Tara in this window are excluded. Births < 5 in a given state-year are suppressed by SSA for privacy.

Variant Forms

Name	Meaning	Gender	Origin
Taralynn	Variant Of Irish Or Sanskrit Tara.	Female	English
Tarrah	Variant Of Irish Or Sanskrit Tara.	Female	English

Looking for names like Tara?

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Compare Tara to Other Popular Names

Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Tara against today's most popular girls-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).

Tara vs Olivia 210,124 births since 2014

Tara vs Emma 202,477 births since 2014

Tara vs Sophia 169,709 births since 2014

Tara vs Isabella 158,431 births since 2014

Tara vs Ava 157,356 births since 2014

Tara vs Charlotte 151,872 births since 2014

Tara vs Mia 149,779 births since 2014

Tara vs Amelia 142,728 births since 2014

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