Girls' name · since 1882
Cara
53,305 babies named Cara in U.S. Social Security records since 1882, with the highest year being 1985. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #563 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,327 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 53,305
- born since 1882
- 1980s
- peak decade
53,305 babies have been named Cara since 1882, making it today's #1327 girls' name.
Social Security Administration records show Cara recorded 53,305 times among girls since 1882, holding rank #1327 nationally today, ahead of 92% of girls, peaking in the 1980s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1882 to 2025.
- #563 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,327 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 53,305 born since 1882
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cara ranks #563 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,327 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 53,305 born since 1882, peaking in the 1980s.
- #563 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,327 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 53,305
- born since 1882
- 1980s
- peak decade
Cara's 53,305 recorded births place it above 99.22% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Cara compares
53,305 Top 4% higher than 96% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Cara's all-time total is 142x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Cara | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 53,305 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,465 | 21 | 19,840 |
Cara's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Cara's full recorded timeline at 1954, 96% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 4% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1882, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1985 peak of 1,465 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Cara popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1882–2025
- Peak year (1985)
- 1,465
- Annual births at peak, across 144 years of records
Cara popularity over time - boys
62 total births recorded since 1976 (Cara as boys' name)
Cara by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (13,277 births, 25% of the file).
1980s was Cara's strongest decade.
13,277 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 25% of all-time use.
Cara births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 63
1880s
63 births
- 1890s 91
1890s
91 births
- 1900s 113
1900s
113 births
- 1910s 219
1910s
219 births
- 1920s 281
1920s
281 births
- 1930s 305
1930s
305 births
- 1940s 492
1940s
492 births
- 1950s 1,291
1950s
1,291 births
- 1960s
1960s
5,779 births
- 1970s
1970s
10,413 births
- 1980s
1980s
13,277 births
- 1990s
1990s
9,844 births
- 2000s
2000s
6,034 births
- 2010s 3,830
2010s
3,830 births
- 2020s 1,273
2020s
1,273 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 13,277 births (25% of all-time use).
How Cara compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Cara's total volume
Cara by state
Where Cara concentrates geographically, total births since 1882
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 4,337 | 8.1% |
| #2 | New York | | 4,096 | 7.7% |
| #3 | Texas | | 3,272 | 6.1% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 3,142 | 5.9% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 2,910 | 5.5% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 2,660 | 5.0% |
| #7 | New Jersey | | 1,992 | 3.7% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 1,864 | 3.5% |
4,337 of 53,305 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Cara appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Cara? ▼
Where does Cara sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Cara most popular? ▼
Where is Cara most popular? ▼
How long has the name Cara been used? ▼
What names are similar to Cara? ▼
What to do with Cara's data
- Cara's decade-level peak was the 1980s (13,277 total births); usage has since declined to 1,273 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Caras (4,337 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Cara
Nearby Names Like Cara
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Cara
Compare Cara side by side: Cara vs Carol Cara vs Carolyn Cara vs Carrie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Cara
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Cara: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1985)
Similar record span (~143 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1882–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Cara draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.