The name Cari is of Latin origin, derived from the word "carus," which means "beloved" or "dear." It was a popular name in ancient Rome and was used as both a masculine and feminine name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cari can be found in the writings of the ancient Roman historian Tacitus. He mentions a Roman soldier named Cari who fought bravely during the Batavian Revolt in the 1st century AD.

In the 4th century AD, there was a Christian martyr named Cari who was killed during the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Diocletian. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.

During the Middle Ages, the name Cari was relatively uncommon, but it started to gain popularity again during the Renaissance period. One notable bearer of the name was Cari Borromeo (1538-1584), an Italian cardinal and Archbishop of Milan, who played a significant role in implementing the reforms of the Council of Trent.

Another famous person with the name Cari was Cari Linnaeus (1707-1778), the Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature for naming species.

In the 19th century, Cari Schurz (1829-1906) was a German-American statesman and journalist who served as the 13th United States Secretary of the Interior under President Rutherford B. Hayes.

Cari Jung (1875-1961), the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, is perhaps one of the most famous individuals with the name Cari. He is widely regarded as the founder of analytical psychology and is known for his theories on the collective unconscious and archetypes.

While the name Cari has its roots in Latin, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and languages around the world, sometimes with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation.