How popular is the baby name Mara in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Mara.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Mara


Posts that mention the name Mara

Baby names needed: Girl names for twin sisters

A reader named Grace would like some help naming her twin girls, due in a couple of months. She and her husband John already have three boys, Jackson, Samuel and Lucas.

So far, their favorite girl names are Juliet, Isla, Susannah and Norah. But they’re also considering a family name:

We would love to honor my mother, Denise Marie, but we despise both names. I would love some ideas on how to use that without actually using those names.

For the middle spots, they’re aiming for virtue names. They already have Honor picked out, and “[i]f there is another virtue name you would suggest so they both had one that would be great!”

Their last name is similar to Cawston.

–
On the current favorites…
I like all of the current favorites. The pairing I like best, though, is Juliet and Susannah. I just think they sound good together. I also like how they can both be shortened, just like the boys’ names — Jack, Sam, Luke, Jules & Sue (or Julie & Susie).

On incorporating Denise Marie…
One way to incorporate Denise Marie would be to find a name that features the sounds of both Denise and Marie (especially those D- and M-sounds). Names with these sounds include Madeline, Demetria, Dominique/Domenica, Damaris, Adamina, Amadea and Idamae.

Another approach would be to use initials — either the initials “D. M.” for one twin or a D-name for twin #1 and an M-name for twin #2. Some possibilities (beyond the names above) include Dahlia, Daisy, Damiana, Daphne, Dara, Delphine, Diana, Dina, Dora, Dorothy and Drusilla for D-names and Mara, Marian, Marlene, Martina, Mina, Mirabelle, Miranda, Miriam, Molly, Monica and Mona for M-names.

On virtuous middles…
My first thought was Mercy, because it sounds a lot like Marie. Other virtue names that might make nice middles are Amity, Charity, Clementine/Clemency, Hope, Joy, Patience, Peace/Pax, Temperance and Verity.

–
Now it’s your turn! Which of Juliet, Isla, Susannah and Norah do you like best for twins? What names can you come up with to honor Denise Marie? Which virtue names do you like best for middle names?

Baby name needed: Girl name for Diogo and Cruz’s sister

A reader named Debra would like some help naming baby número três:

We are just not finding THE name. I’m American, husband is Portuguese and we live in the states. We have two boys; Diogo and Cruz. I am due any day with #3 a GIRL. We definitely want a Portuguese name.

Our criteria…the name needs to be relatively easy for Americans to pronounce. Don’t want a name in the top 100 in the states. I prefer names that aren’t automatically shortened to nn – Debra to Debbie, Kimberly to Kim. I don’t usually care for names that end with the “e” sound, ex. Zoe. The name should be beautiful and sophisticated, more than cute.

I really like Sofia and Isabel, but they are just too popular in the U.S. right now. Other names we like are Beatriz (too hard to properly pronounce in US?), and Mara.

Please help us. I’d love to have a name before she is born! I’m 38 weeks today!

I think Mara would be a great choice, based on the criteria. Here are some other names that might also work:

  • Ana
  • Aurora
  • Carla
  • Clara
  • Flávia
  • Gloria
  • Lídia
  • Luísa
  • Magda
  • Marina
  • Marta
  • Monica
  • Paula
  • Rosa
  • Sílvia (a good alternative to Sofia?)
  • Teresa

Do you like any of the above for the baby sister of Diogo and Cruz? What other (preferably Portuguese) names would you suggest to Debra?

Baby name needed: Girl name for twin sister

A reader named Ayelet is expecting twins. She and her husband won’t be finding out the babies’ genders ahead of time, so they’d like to be prepared with two boy names and two girl names.

So far they’ve got August and Dominic for the boy names and Celia for one of the girl names. Once they select a second girl name they’ll be all set.

They’d like something that isn’t common (i.e. outside of the top 500). They’re considering Aliyah, Angelie, Aurelia, Eva, Isla, Juliet and Valentina, but Aliena is the current favorite:

The name we love is Aliena. She is a character in Ken Follett’s novel “The Pillars of the Earth,” which is set in twelfth-century England. But we can’t get past the “alien” in the name. I have an Alienor in my family tree, so I thought about going the Eleanor route, but I don’t like that spelling; I think I’m in love with that “Ali” sequence.

The baby’s surname will start and end with the letter n, like Nelson.

First, about Aliena. It’s a pretty name, but I’d also be worried about that “alien” association. I don’t know if I’d risk it as a first name, but it might work well as a middle.

The only alternative I can come up with is Eliana, which is an (unrelated) anagram of Aliena. But it’s ranked 193rd and climbing, so it might be a bit too popular.

Here are some other possibilities. None of these are currently in the top 500, and the ones with asterisks have a-l-i sequences.

Adina
Antonia
Amity
Adele/Adeline
Anneliese
Beatrice
Catalina*
Callista
Coralie*
Corinna		Davina
Estella
Elsa
Eloise
Esme
Flavia
Ginevra
Gwendolyn
Helena
Irina		Isadora
Judith/Judy
Leona
Lavinia
Marina
Martina
Mara
Olive
Oriana
Odette		Paulina
Regina
Rosalie*
Rosaline*
Theresa
Vera
Viola
Verity
Venetia
Zinnia

Finally, there’s the option of simply feminizing one of the boy names. August could become Augusta or Augustina; Dominic could become Dominique or Dominica.

Which of the above girl names do you like best with August, Dominic and/or Celia? What other girl names would you suggest to Ayelet?

Baby name needed: Name for Hayden’s little brother or sister

A reader named Angela is expecting her second baby (gender unknown). She sent me a lot of helpful information, so I’ve broken it down into main points:

  • The baby’s middle name will be Patrick (if a boy) or Josephine (if a girl).
  • The baby’s surname will start with P.
  • She and her husband like the name Abigail, but it may soon be taken by friends.
  • They also like the name Caleb, but the initials CPP sound like “see pee pee.” They want to avoid names and initials that invite teasing.
  • Ideally, the first name will be something that can be shortened to a nickname.
  • Angela likes “literature or movie referenced names.”
  • Angela’s husband likes “uncomplicated English or Christian names (he’s Adam…his brothers are Benjamin and Noah).”

Their first son is named Hayden Adam.

Here are the names I came up with, along with a few literature/film references. Ladies first:

Audrey (Hepburn)
Bethany
Charlotte (Gilman; Bronte)
Chloe
Denise
Dorothy (Gale)
Elizabeth (Bennet)
Jillian
Judith
Kaitlyn
Katherine
Leah
Lillian
Louisa (Alcott)
Lucy (Montgomery)		Lydia
Mara
Marianne
Mary
Maya (Angelou)
Michelle
Miriam
Molly
Naomi
Natalie
Rachel
Rebecca
Samantha
Sarah
Shirley (Anne; Temple)

And now the gents:

Beckett (Samuel)
Bennet (Elizabeth)
Daniel (Defoe)
David (Salinger)
Edward (Forster)
Eliot (T.S.; George)
Emmett
Everett
Gabriel (Márquez)
Jacob
Jonathan
James (Henry; Joyce)
Jerome (Salinger)
Joseph (Conrad)
Leo (Tolstoy)		Lucas
Martin
Matthew
Maxwell
Micah
Michael
Miller (Arthur)
Nathan
Raymond (Carver)
Samuel
Sawyer (Tom)
Simon
Sinclair (Upton; Lewis)
William (Faulkner; Golding)
Zachary

Do you like any of the above? What other names would you suggest to Angela?