Gara
A feminine name derived from the Sanskrit word "gaura" meaning fair or bright.
Name Census estimates that about 254 living Americans carry the first name Gara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gara today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gara births was 1972 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gara. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
254
~ 1 in 1,349,427 Americans
Peak year
1972
13 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2000 SSA rank
#12,229
Tracked since 1916
Census
Gara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 409 people with the first name Gara, which placed it at #23,820 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#23,820
National first-name rank
People counted
409
409 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gara is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Hispanic (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gara described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.9% · 331
- Black or African American10.0% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 7
- Two or more races1.7% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
Popularity
Gara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gara from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 90 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gara by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gara
The given name Gara is believed to have its origins in the Basque language, which is spoken in parts of Spain and France. The name is thought to be derived from the Basque word "gara," which means "to be" or "to exist." This suggests that the name may have been given to children as a symbolic wish for their existence or being.
In Basque culture, names often carry deep meanings and reflect the values and beliefs of the people. The name Gara may have been used as a way to express gratitude for the child's life and to invoke a sense of purpose or significance.
While the exact origins of the name are unclear, some linguists suggest that it may have been influenced by other European languages, such as Latin or Greek, which have similar-sounding words related to "being" or "existence."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gara can be found in the 12th-century Basque epic poem, "Cantar de Rodrigo." In this work, a character named Gara is mentioned, though little is known about their historical significance.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Gara. One example is Gara Dembélé (1942-2010), a Malian singer and musician who was known for popularizing the traditional music of Mali. Another is Gara Gasparyan (1924-2021), an Armenian musician and composer who was renowned for his mastery of the duduk, a traditional Armenian woodwind instrument.
In the realm of literature, Gara Garayev (1923-1982) was an Azerbaijani composer and conductor who made significant contributions to the development of Azerbaijani classical music. His compositions often blended traditional Azerbaijani folk elements with western classical styles.
Gara Afkhami (born 1971) is an Iranian-American lawyer and human rights activist who has worked to promote women's rights and democracy in the Middle East. She has served as the executive director of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center and has been recognized for her efforts in advancing human rights.
Lastly, Gara Dembele (born 1987) is a French professional basketball player who has represented the French national team in international competitions. He has played for several teams in Europe and is known for his defensive skills and rebounding abilities.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Gara throughout history, highlighting its potential origins and cultural significance across various regions and disciplines.
People
Gara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gara as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 254 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gara going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,349,427 US residents.
Is Gara a common name?
We classify Gara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 339 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gara most popular?
The single biggest year for Gara was 1972, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gara is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 409 people with the name Gara, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,820 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gara in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gara leans strongly female. 378 people counted with this name were female (91.7%), compared with 34 male bearers (8.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gara is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Hispanic (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gara most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (331 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gara in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gara in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gara can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Gara?
You can see how many Americans are named Gara on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.