Girls' name · since 1939
Tara
175,812 babies named Tara in U.S. Social Security records since 1939, with the highest year being 1972. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #229 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #845 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 175,812
- born since 1939
- 1970s
- peak decade
Tara currently ranks #845 among girls' names in America, with 175,812 babies recorded since 1939.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Tara has been recorded 175,812 times among girls since 1939, currently ranked #845 nationally and more common than 95% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1970s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1939 to 2025.
- #229 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #845 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 175,812 born since 1939
- 1970s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Tara ranks #229 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #845 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 175,812 born since 1939, peaking in the 1970s.
- #229 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #845 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 175,812
- born since 1939
- 1970s
- peak decade
Tara's 175,812 recorded births place it above 99.68% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Tara compares
175,812 Top 2% higher than 98% 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
Tara's all-time total is 468x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Tara | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 175,812 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 7,234 | 21 | 19,840 |
Tara's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Tara splits its recorded history at 1982: 45% of all births land in the more recent half, 55% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1939 (7 births) -- compare that against the 1972 peak of 7,234 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Tara popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1939–2025
- Peak year (1972)
- 7,234
- Annual births at peak, across 87 years of records
Tara popularity over time - boys
543 total births recorded since 1962 (Tara as boys' name)
Tara by decade
1970s is the heaviest window (65,072 births, 37% of the file).
1970s was Tara's strongest decade.
65,072 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 37% of all-time use.
Tara births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1930s 7
1930s
7 births
- 1940s 392
1940s
392 births
- 1950s 3,175
1950s
3,175 births
- 1960s 14,543
1960s
14,543 births
- 1970s
1970s
65,072 births
- 1980s
1980s
56,338 births
- 1990s 23,370
1990s
23,370 births
- 2000s 8,572
2000s
8,572 births
- 2010s 2,911
2010s
2,911 births
- 2020s 1,432
2020s
1,432 births
What this shows Peak: 1970s at 65,072 births (37% of all-time use).
How Tara 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 Tara's total volume
Tara by state
Where Tara concentrates geographically, total births since 1939
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 16,906 | 9.6% |
| #2 | California | | 13,418 | 7.6% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 11,385 | 6.5% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 8,918 | 5.1% |
| #5 | New Jersey | | 8,458 | 4.8% |
| #6 | Texas | | 8,348 | 4.7% |
| #7 | Illinois | | 7,368 | 4.2% |
| #8 | Florida | | 6,749 | 3.8% |
16,906 of 175,812 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Tara appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Tara? ▼
Where does Tara sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Tara most popular? ▼
Where is Tara most popular? ▼
How long has the name Tara been used? ▼
What names are similar to Tara? ▼
What to do with Tara's data
- Tara's decade-level peak was the 1970s (65,072 total births); usage has since declined to 1,432 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Taras (16,906 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 Tara
Nearby Names Like Tara
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Tara
Compare Tara side by side: Tara vs Taryn Tara vs Tarah Tara vs Taraji
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Tara
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Tara: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1972)
Similar record span (~86 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, 1939–2025 (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 Tara 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.