How Many People Are Named Tara?
An estimated 161,832 people in the United States have the first name Tara. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #332 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 44 years old, and Tara peaked in popularity in 1972 with 7,268 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Tara as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Tara paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Tara is overwhelmingly female, 543 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Tara has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
161,832
About 1 in 2,118 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
44
years old
Peak Year
1972
7,268 births
Total Registered
176,033
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Tara
Tara is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 176,033 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Tara as a male name
Ranked #11,409 in 1999
5 male births in 1999
Peak: 1972 (34 births)
Tara as a female name
Ranked #1,021 in 2024
247 female births in 2024
Peak: 1972 (7,234 births)
Tara: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Tara span from the 1930s to the 2020s, covering 10 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 65,324 babies were registered. Tara has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Tara by Decade
How has Tara tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Tara by State
Birth registrations for Tara span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Vermont, Wyoming, Alaska. On average, about 3,400 Taras were registered per state.
Tara + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Tara as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Tara
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
Tara: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tara?
We estimate approximately 161,832 people named Tara are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 2,118 Americans share this first name.
Is Tara a common name?
Tara is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 176,033 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Tara most popular?
Tara reached peak popularity in 1972, when 7,268 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Tara is approximately 44 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Tara a female name?
Tara is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Tara Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Tara Smith, Tara Johnson, Tara Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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