Tara - Name Meaning and Popularity -

Meaning of Tara

Tara twinkles onto the tongue like a pocket–sized shooting star—most English speakers say TAHR-uh—and, fittingly, her Sanskrit roots literally mean “star.” Yet this luminous little name is a globe-trotter: in ancient India she’s the compassionate goddess who ferries devotees across life’s rough seas; in Irish legend she’s the storied Hill of Tara, where high kings once swapped sagas under moss-green skies. Pop-culture sprinkled extra stardust in the ’70s and ’80s—think Scarlett O’Hara’s beloved plantation and a certain Jedi’s twin sister—sending Tara soaring up the U.S. charts before she settled into her current, comfortably uncommon perch. She’s short, sweet, and easy to spell, but carries a suitcase full of myth, geography, and galaxy-bright sparkle, perfect for parents who want a name that feels both down-to-earth and sky-bound. Tara is the friend who arrives at the party in flip-flops and still manages to look effortlessly radiant—proof that a simple sound can hold whole constellations of story.