How common is the surname Cara?

693 people in the United States had the surname Cara in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 445,520 Americans. It ranked 33,036th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Cara?

In the 2010 Census, 62% of people named Cara identified as white (not Hispanic), and 23% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Cara?

Irene Cara, American singer and actress (1959–2022).

Where is the surname Cara most common?

Wikidata records people named Cara in the United States.

Is the surname Cara getting more or less common?

Less common. 869 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 693 in 2010, down 20%.

Is Cara also a first name?

Yes. Cara is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Cara

An Italian surname, carried by 693 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex C600 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Cara is more common than 79.6% of them.

Origin

Italian origin

20th-century English coinage from Italian cara (“dear”) or Irish cara (“friend”).

One of 798 Italian surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 693 people named Cara in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 445,520 Americans. That is down 20% since 2000, when the Census counted 869.

#33,036

rank among US surnames

693

people in 2010

0.2

per 100,000 Americans

-20.3%

change since 2000 (was #26,419)

Who is named Cara

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

62% of people named Cara identified as white (not Hispanic), 23% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 13% as Asian and Pacific Islander.

White (not Hispanic) 62%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 23%
Asian and Pacific Islander 13%
Black (not Hispanic) 1.9%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Native American, Multiracial are not shown.

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Caras

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Irene Cara
American singer and actress (1959–2022)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Kara

Surnames that sound like Cara

Cara has the Soundex code C600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C600.

Other Italian surnames

All 798 Italian surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Cara come from?: 20th-century English coinage from Italian cara (“dear”) or Irish cara (“friend”).
How common is the surname Cara?: 693 people in the United States had the surname Cara in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 445,520 Americans. It ranked 33,036th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Cara?: In the 2010 Census, 62% of people named Cara identified as white (not Hispanic), and 23% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Cara?: Irene Cara, American singer and actress (1959–2022).
Where is the surname Cara most common?: Wikidata records people named Cara in the United States.
Is the surname Cara getting more or less common?: Less common. 869 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 693 in 2010, down 20%.
What are other spellings of Cara?: Kara.
Is Cara also a first name?: Yes. Cara is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.