How common is the surname Lara?

83,067 people in the United States had the surname Lara in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,717 Americans. It ranked 381st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Lara?

Joe Lara, American actor (1962–2021), followed by Alda Lara.

Where is the surname Lara most common?

Wikidata records people named Lara in the United States, Bolivia and Brazil and 2 other countries.

How do you pronounce Lara?

Lara is /ˈlɑː.ɹə/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Lara getting more or less common?

More common. 59,731 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 83,067 in 2010, up 39%.

Is Lara also a first name?

Yes. Lara 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 Lara

A Russian surname, carried by 83,067 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈlɑː.ɹə/ 2 syllables Soundex L600 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). Lara is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

Russian origin

Anglicized from Russian Ла́ра (Lára), a Russian pet form of Larissa, known from the novel (1957) and film (1965) Dr Zhivago.

One of 24 Russian surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 83,067 people named Lara in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,717 Americans. That is up 39% since 2000, when the Census counted 59,731.

#381

rank among US surnames

83,067

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+39.1%

change since 2000 (was #501)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#372	Bush	84,018	3,675
#373	Thornton	83,967	3,677
#374	Wolfe	83,928	3,679
#375	Warner	83,781	3,685
#376	Cabrera	83,621	3,692
#377	McKinney	83,616	3,692
#378	Mann	83,510	3,697

Who is named Lara

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

92% of people named Lara identified as Hispanic or Latino (any race), 5.7% as white (not Hispanic) and 1.1% as Asian and Pacific Islander.

Hispanic or Latino (any race) 92%
White (not Hispanic) 5.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.1%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%
Two or more races 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among Hispanic and Latino Americans.

Famous Laras

9 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Joe Lara
American actor (1962–2021)
Alda Lara
Angolan poet (1930–1962)
Diógenes Lara
Bolivian footballer (1902-1971)
Dona Ivone Lara
Brazilian singer and composer (1922–2018)
Edmand Lara
Bolivian politician and police officer, born 1985
Ricardo Lara
American politician, born 1974
Carlos Lara
Argentine-born Mexican footballer and coach (1934-2001)
Lélis Lara
Brazilian priest (1925–2016)
Vickie Guerrero
American professional wrestling manager, born 1968

Notable Laras come mostly from the United States (3), Bolivia (2) and Brazil (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Lara

Lara has the Soundex code L600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L600.

Other Russian surnames

All 24 Russian surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Lara come from?: Anglicized from Russian Ла́ра (Lára), a Russian pet form of Larissa, known from the novel (1957) and film (1965) Dr Zhivago.
How common is the surname Lara?: 83,067 people in the United States had the surname Lara in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,717 Americans. It ranked 381st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Lara?: In the 2010 Census, 92% of people named Lara identified as Hispanic or Latino (any race), and 5.7% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Lara?: Joe Lara, American actor (1962–2021), followed by Alda Lara.
Where is the surname Lara most common?: Wikidata records people named Lara in the United States, Bolivia and Brazil and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Lara?: Lara is /ˈlɑː.ɹə/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Lara getting more or less common?: More common. 59,731 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 83,067 in 2010, up 39%.
Is Lara also a first name?: Yes. Lara 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.