BabyNameScore

Lara

LAH·ruh · 2 syllables

Lara feels distinctive without creating everyday friction in daily use.

88/100

Strong Practical Fit

Balanced across pronunciation, everyday use, lifetime fit and international use.

Name Profile

  1. Pronunciation & Spelling

    Effortless

    A documented English pronunciation is on file: LAH-ruh.

    91/100

  2. Everyday Use

    Low risk

    95/100

  3. Growing Up

    Strong lifetime fit

    Short enough to work in every register without a nickname.

    86/100

  4. International Use

    Broad international fit

    Works cleanly across the assessed languages and writing systems.

    85/100

ORIGIN & HISTORY

About the name

Lara most commonly functions as a short form of the Greek/Latin name Larissa (no independently documented literal meaning for Larissa itself was verified in this research). Separately, in Roman mythology Lara (also called Larunda) is a water nymph, mother of the Lares (household guardian deities) — a distinct mythological name rather than a shortening. Larissa's own literal meaning was not independently verified in this research, so "short form of Larissa" describes a documented naming relationship, not a confirmed word-for-word meaning for Lara.

  1. Lara has been among the top 1,000 US girls' names continuously since 1966, the year after the 1965 film Dr. Zhivago — featuring the character Lara Antipova, played by Julie Christie — is credited with significantly boosting the name's recognition in English-speaking countries.
  2. Mythological and religious contextIn Roman mythology, Lara (also called Larunda) is a water nymph who, per Ovid's Fasti, is punished by Jupiter for gossiping about his affairs and becomes the mother of the Lares, household guardian deities, by Mercury.
POPULARITY

Lara over time

United States
#693RANK

Rank #693 gives national context, not a classroom forecast.

Uncommon in current U.S. usage. Ranked #693 in the U.S., 2025.

SourceU.S. Social Security Administration · 2025 release

Pronunciation & Forms

SAY IT

LAH·ruh

STRESS ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE

PRACTICAL LIFE

How This Name Lives

AT SCHOOL & DAY TO DAY

Short, phonetically simple, and easy for a young child to say, with a gentle sound that has kept it in steady, modest use for decades.

INTO ADULTHOOD

A soft, internationally recognizable name that reads as classic and elegant for an adult woman across many European and English-speaking contexts, with cinematic associations via Dr. Zhivago for older audiences.

Cultural Footprint

Used as a feminine given name across Russian, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, and Croatian-speaking traditions.

TRACEABLE ORIGIN
  1. Lara Antipovacharacter, Dr. Zhivago, 1965 film, played by Julie Christie
EDITORIAL SYNTHESIS

The Decision

Lara is spelled without unusual letter patterns, and it holds up in everyday use. Surname-dependent compatibility remains unassessed until a surname is added.

STRENGTH

A documented English pronunciation is on file. Short enough to work in every register without a nickname.

BEST FIT

Everyday Use is the strongest-scoring part of this name — no obvious nickname traps, rhymes, or initial issues detected.

FULL-NAME CHECK

See how it works with a surname.

Lara