# Tara (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/tara/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Irish |
| Meaning | “high place” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈtɑːɹə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 176,355 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 543 / 175,812 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 5,204, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Irish Teamhrach, genitive of Teamhair, from Old Irish Temair (literally “high place”). The female given name is derived from the name of the plantation in Gone with the Wind, named for the place in Ireland.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 303 | 864 |
| 2012 | 336 | 799 |
| 2013 | 282 | 909 |
| 2014 | 301 | 906 |
| 2015 | 301 | 914 |
| 2016 | 261 | 1,017 |
| 2017 | 265 | 984 |
| 2018 | 250 | 1,034 |
| 2019 | 257 | 1,006 |
| 2020 | 201 | 1,164 |
| 2021 | 212 | 1,158 |
| 2022 | 240 | 1,061 |
| 2023 | 208 | 1,163 |
| 2024 | 249 | 1,020 |
| 2025 | 322 | 847 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 27 | 2,048 |
| 1981 | 21 | 2,410 |
| 1982 | 28 | 1,988 |
| 1983 | 18 | 2,662 |
| 1984 | 14 | 3,255 |
| 1985 | 15 | 3,205 |
| 1986 | 20 | 2,677 |
| 1987 | 20 | 2,714 |
| 1988 | 19 | 2,943 |
| 1989 | 18 | 3,314 |
| 1990 | 18 | 3,446 |
| 1991 | 9 | 5,884 |
| 1992 | 10 | 5,598 |
| 1994 | 9 | 6,305 |
| 1999 | 5 | 11,410 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 92 | 464 |
| 2012 | 109 | 420 |
| 2013 | 99 | 430 |
| 2014 | 79 | 535 |
| 2015 | 78 | 560 |
| 2016 | 93 | 468 |
| 2017 | 73 | 582 |
| 2018 | 80 | 527 |
| 2019 | 68 | 584 |
| 2020 | 71 | 555 |
| 2021 | 52 | 720 |
| 2022 | 59 | 638 |
| 2023 | 57 | 637 |
| 2024 | 71 | 547 |
| 2025 | 90 | 444 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 塔拉
- Irish: Teamhair
- Polish: Tara

## People named Tara

- Tara Reid, American actress (born 1975)
- Tara Strong, Canadian-American actress (born 1973)
- Tara Lipinski, American figure skater (born 1982)
- Tara Westover, American historian and author
- Tara Davis-Woodhall, American track and field athlete
- Tara Fitzgerald, English actress (born 1967)
- Tara Sharma, British film actress
- Tara Lynne Barr, American actress
- Tara Whitten, Canadian track racing cyclist
- Tara Buckman, American actress
- Tara Conner, American model and winner of Miss USA 2006 (born 1985)
- Tara Buck, American actress

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.