Recorded 1882–2025 · United States
Cara was most popular in 1985, when 1,472 American babies were given the name — ranking #362 that year. In 2025 it ranked #2,484, with 168 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 53,367 people named Cara.
Cara first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1882, which makes it about 143 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 143 of the 144 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 53,367 American births named Cara between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 50,207 are estimated to be alive today.
168 American babies were named Cara in 2025, ranking #2,484 that year.
Cara is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 197 births a year, against 428 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -54% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Cara is a girl’s name — 99.9% of the 53,367 Americans given it were girls and 0.1% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 50,207 Americans named Cara are alive today — 94% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 40 years old, and half are between 28 and 50.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
See Cara on the interactive charts
About · Privacy · Contact
Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org