# Mara (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/mara/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 2,956 |
| US rank (2010) | 10,790 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 104,447 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.9% (2,902 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Hebrew מָרָא (mara, “bitterness”), derived from Hebrew מַר (mar, “bitter”). The modern given name may also be shortened from Maria or Tamara.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Mara in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 73% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 14% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 7.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Mara in the United States.

## People named Mara

- Rooney Mara, American actress (born 1985)
- Kate Mara, American actress (born 1983)
- Adele Mara, American actress (1923-2010)
- Mary Mara, American actress (1960–2022)
- Paul Mara, American ice hockey player

## Similar surnames

Mora, Marr, Mauro, Marra, Mar, Maria, Marrow, Marie, Mair, Mera, Mähr, Mira.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.