Unisex name · since 1893
Dara
13,692 babies named Dara in U.S. Social Security records since 1893, with the highest year being 1981. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,368 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,131 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 13,692
- born since 1893
- 1980s
- peak decade
Yes -- Dara is the #1131 most popular unisex name in the U.S. today, with 13,692 recorded since 1893.
Dara has 13,692 recorded births among girls since 1893, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1131 as of the latest data, more common than 93% of girls, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1893 to 2025.
- #1,368 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,131 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 13,692 born since 1893
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dara ranks #1,368 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,131 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 13,692 born since 1893, peaking in the 1980s.
- #1,368 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,131 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 13,692
- born since 1893
- 1980s
- peak decade
Dara's 13,692 recorded births place it above 98.1% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
38 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Dara compares
13,692 Top 8% higher than 92% 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
Dara's all-time total is 36x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Dara | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 13,692 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 453 | 21 | 19,840 |
Dara's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Dara's full recorded timeline at 1969, 79% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 21% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1893, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1981 peak of 453 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Dara popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1893–2025
- Peak year (1981)
- 453
- Annual births at peak, across 133 years of records
Dara popularity over time - boys
855 total births recorded since 1955 (Dara as boys' name)
Dara by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (2,905 births, 21% of the file).
1980s was Dara's strongest decade.
2,905 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.
Dara births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 5
1890s
5 births
- 1900s 11
1900s
11 births
- 1910s 54
1910s
54 births
- 1920s 85
1920s
85 births
- 1930s 46
1930s
46 births
- 1940s 212
1940s
212 births
- 1950s 971
1950s
971 births
- 1960s
1960s
1,840 births
- 1970s
1970s
2,650 births
- 1980s
1980s
2,905 births
- 1990s
1990s
1,808 births
- 2000s 1,078
2000s
1,078 births
- 2010s 1,023
2010s
1,023 births
- 2020s 1,004
2020s
1,004 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 2,905 births (21% of all-time use).
How Dara 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 Dara's total volume
Dara by state
Where Dara concentrates geographically, total births since 1893
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 1,569 | 11.5% |
| #2 | California | | 1,319 | 9.6% |
| #3 | Texas | | 873 | 6.4% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 753 | 5.5% |
| #5 | New Jersey | | 725 | 5.3% |
| #6 | Florida | | 622 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Illinois | | 381 | 2.8% |
| #8 | Ohio | | 342 | 2.5% |
1,569 of 13,692 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 38 reporting states.
Dara appears in 38 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Dara's data
- Dara's usage has stayed within range of its 1980s decade-level peak (2,905 total births) through the 2020s (1,004) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- New York records the most Daras (1,569 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Dara
Nearby Names Like Dara
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Dara
Compare Dara side by side: Dara vs Darlene Dara vs Darla Dara vs Darcy
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Dara
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Dara: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1981)
Similar record span (~132 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, 1893–2025 (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 Dara 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.