Girls' name · since 1896
Kara
101,743 babies named Kara in U.S. Social Security records since 1896, with the highest year being 1991. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #370 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,073 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 101,743
- born since 1896
- 1980s
- peak decade
Kara currently ranks #1073 among girls' names in America, with 101,743 babies recorded since 1896.
Kara has 101,743 recorded births among girls since 1896, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1073 as of the latest data, more common than 94% 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 1896 to 2025.
- #370 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,073 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 101,743 born since 1896
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kara ranks #370 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,073 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 101,743 born since 1896, peaking in the 1980s.
- #370 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,073 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 101,743
- born since 1896
- 1980s
- peak decade
Kara's 101,743 recorded births place it above 99.48% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Kara compares
101,743 Top 3% higher than 97% 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
Kara's all-time total is 271x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Kara | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 101,743 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 3,281 | 21 | 19,840 |
Kara's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Kara splits its recorded history at 1977: 80% of all births land in the more recent half, 20% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1896 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1991 peak of 3,281 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Kara popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1896–2025
- Peak year (1991)
- 3,281
- Annual births at peak, across 130 years of records
Kara popularity over time - boys
282 total births recorded since 1915 (Kara as boys' name)
Kara by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (27,506 births, 27% of the file).
1980s was Kara's strongest decade.
27,506 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 27% of all-time use.
Kara births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 5
1890s
5 births
- 1910s 7
1910s
7 births
- 1930s 81
1930s
81 births
- 1940s 221
1940s
221 births
- 1950s 743
1950s
743 births
- 1960s 7,039
1960s
7,039 births
- 1970s
1970s
19,760 births
- 1980s
1980s
27,506 births
- 1990s
1990s
23,514 births
- 2000s
2000s
13,491 births
- 2010s 7,487
2010s
7,487 births
- 2020s 1,889
2020s
1,889 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 27,506 births (27% of all-time use).
How Kara 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 Kara's total volume
Kara by state
Where Kara concentrates geographically, total births since 1896
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 7,299 | 7.2% |
| #2 | Texas | | 6,337 | 6.2% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 6,137 | 6.0% |
| #4 | New York | | 5,990 | 5.9% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 5,509 | 5.4% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 5,229 | 5.1% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 4,488 | 4.4% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 3,627 | 3.6% |
7,299 of 101,743 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Kara appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Kara? ▼
Where does Kara sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Kara most popular? ▼
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What to do with Kara's data
- Kara's decade-level peak was the 1980s (27,506 total births); usage has since declined to 1,889 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Karas (7,299 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 Kara
Nearby Names Like Kara
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Kara
Compare Kara side by side: Kara vs Karen Kara vs Karla Kara vs Karina
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Kara
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Kara: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1991)
Similar record span (~129 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, 1896–2025 (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 Kara 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.