Tara
Meaning of Tara
Tara twinkles onto the tongue like a pocket–sized shooting star—most English speakers say TAHR-uh—and, fittingly, her Sanskrit roots literally mean “star.” Yet this luminous little name is a globe-trotter: in ancient India she’s the compassionate goddess who ferries devotees across life’s rough seas; in Irish legend she’s the storied Hill of Tara, where high kings once swapped sagas under moss-green skies. Pop-culture sprinkled extra stardust in the ’70s and ’80s—think Scarlett O’Hara’s beloved plantation and a certain Jedi’s twin sister—sending Tara soaring up the U.S. charts before she settled into her current, comfortably uncommon perch. She’s short, sweet, and easy to spell, but carries a suitcase full of myth, geography, and galaxy-bright sparkle, perfect for parents who want a name that feels both down-to-earth and sky-bound. Tara is the friend who arrives at the party in flip-flops and still manages to look effortlessly radiant—proof that a simple sound can hold whole constellations of story.
Pronunciation
British English
- Pronunced as TAHR-uh (/tɑrə/)
American English
- Pronunced as TAIR-uh (/tɑrə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Tara
| Tara Lipinski is an American figure skater turned sports commentator who won Olympic gold in 1998 and remains the youngest singles skater ever to claim both Olympic and World titles. |
| Tara VanDerveer coached Stanford women's basketball for nearly four decades, winning three NCAA titles and leading Team USA to Olympic gold in 1996. |
| Tara Singh Hayer was an Indian Canadian newspaper publisher murdered for speaking out against extremist violence and serving as a key witness in the Air India Flight 182 bombing case. |
| Tara Sutaria is an Indian actress and singer who rose from Disney India's reality and sitcom shows to a career in Hindi films. |
| Tara Strong is a Canadian-American voice actress known for beloved roles in cartoons like The Powerpuff Girls, Rugrats, and Teen Titans, plus award-winning video game work in Final Fantasy X-2. |
| Tara Westover is an American memoirist and historian whose bestselling memoir Educated earned her a spot on Time's list of the 100 most influential people of 2019. |
| Tara Subkoff is an American actress and director who also works as a conceptual artist and fashion designer. |
| Tara Stiles is an American model turned yoga instructor who founded Strala Yoga in New York City and grew it into a training business with over 1,000 instructors, earning a Harvard case study along the way. |
| Tara Moss is a Canadian-Australian author, journalist, documentary maker and former model who serves as a UNICEF ambassador for child survival. |
| Tara Hunt is an author, speaker and startup founder widely respected as a pioneer in online marketing and online communities. |
| Tara Priya is an American singer and songwriter based in London, born in San Francisco to an Indian father and a Persian mother who is the niece of poet Sohrab Sepehri. |
| Tara Mounsey is an American hockey defenseman who won Olympic gold in 1998 and silver in 2002 with the US women's team. |
