Mara
2025 SSA
Below 5 births
About Mara
Mara is the evocative ancient root of Mary, appearing in the Book of Ruth, in which Naomi, devastated after the death of her two sons, says "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara." It's one of the girl names starting with M that both fits in and stands out.
Mara is a multicultural name, also a Kiswahili word meaning "a time," and could be conceived as a geographical name, being a river flowing through Kenya and Tanzania.
As a child actress, Mara Wilson played leading roles in Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire.
Mara is also given to boys.
Pronounced MAR-uh.
As of October 2026, Mara ranked #589 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #538 in 1990, Nameberry popularity #495.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #694 | 409 | 229 |
| 2015 | #737 | 383 | 214.6 |
| 2016 | #686 | 427 | 241 |
| 2017 | #668 | 440 | 254.9 |
| 2018 | #679 | 431 | 253.4 |
| 2019 | #663 | 438 | 261 |
| 2020 | #628 | 463 | 286.4 |
| 2021 | #540 | 568 | 346.2 |
| 2022 | #620 | 478 | 291.4 |
| 2023 | #582 | 515 | 321 |
| 2024 | #588 | 514 | 317.2 |
| 2025 | #589 | 499 | 310.5 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Mara on lists
Famous Maras
- Mara Elizabeth WilsonGirl
American actress
- Mara SchiavocampoGirl
American news correspondent
- Mara HoffmanGirl
American fashion designer
- Mara BrankovićGirl
daughter of Serbian monarch Đurađ (George) Branković, member of the harem of Sultan Murad II of the Ottoman Empire
- Mara LiassonGirl
American journalist
- La MaraGirl
pen name of German writer Marie Lipsius
- Kate MaraGirl
American actress
- (Patricia) Rooney MaraGirl
American actress
Mara in pop culture
- Mara aka MarzannaGirl
Slavic goddess of winter, death, and harvest
- Mara Jade SkywalkerGirl
character in the "Star Wars Extended Universe" series
- MaraGirl
a goddess of love and compassion from "The Elder Scrolls" videogames
- "Mara: Daughter of the NileGirl
" novel by Eloise McGraw
- Mara JaffrayGirl
a character on TV's "House of Anubis"
- MaraGirl
antagonist of "The Clockwork Forest," by Doug Macleod
- Mara AramovGirl
character in the "Syphon Filter" video game series
- Mara WadeGirl
character in 1965 movie "Mara of the Wilderness"
- Mara Amrita DyerGirl
title character in Michelle Hodkin's novel series
- MaraGirl
one of seven Gods in David Eddings' series "The Belgariad"
- Mara CarlyleGirl
main character in novel "Spontaneous" by Aaron Starmer
- MaraGirl
a tempter figure in Buddhism