Jacara
A feminine name derived from the Brazilian Portuguese word for alligator.
Name Census estimates that about 406 living Americans carry the first name Jacara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jacara today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jacara births was 1998 (70 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jacara. 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
406
~ 1 in 844,223 Americans
Peak year
1998
70 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2017 SSA rank
#16,882
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Jacara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jacara from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 211 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jacara 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 Jacara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jacaras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Illinois, Mississippi, Florida recorded the most babies named Jacara, while Virginia, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jacara
The name Jacara is believed to have originated from an ancient Tupi-Guarani language spoken by indigenous tribes in the coastal regions of present-day Brazil. The Tupi-Guarani languages were widely spoken in South America prior to the arrival of European colonizers.
The name Jacara is thought to be derived from the Tupi-Guarani word "yakarã," which means "crocodile" or "alligator." This suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals with a perceived connection to these reptiles, either through physical characteristics, personality traits, or cultural significance.
Records of the name Jacara can be traced back to the 16th century, when Portuguese explorers and missionaries first encountered the indigenous tribes of Brazil. The earliest known mention of the name appears in a Portuguese document from 1585, which describes an encounter with a Tupi-Guarani chief named Jacara.
Throughout the colonial period, the name Jacara was occasionally adopted by Portuguese settlers and their descendants, although it remained relatively uncommon outside of Brazil and the surrounding regions. One notable historical figure was Jacara de Sousa (1601-1673), a Brazilian landowner and explorer who played a role in the early colonization of the Amazon basin.
In the 19th century, the name gained some popularity among Brazilian aristocratic families, possibly as a way to honor their indigenous heritage or as a nod to the country's natural wonders. Jacara Ferreira (1815-1888) was a prominent Brazilian politician and statesman who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the reign of Emperor Pedro II.
Another significant figure was Jacara Andrade (1876-1945), a Brazilian writer and journalist who was influential in the Modernist literary movement of the early 20th century. His works often explored themes of national identity and the struggle between traditional and modern values in Brazilian society.
In more recent times, the name Jacara has been less commonly used, although it still holds a certain cultural significance in Brazil. Jacara Santos (1941-2022) was a renowned Brazilian artist and sculptor, known for her works that celebrated the indigenous cultures and natural landscapes of her homeland.
While the name Jacara remains relatively rare outside of Brazil, its origins and historical associations with the Tupi-Guarani culture and the country's rich natural heritage have made it a unique and distinctive name with deep roots in South American history.
People
Jacara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jacara as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jacara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jacara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 406 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jacara 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 844,223 US residents.
Is Jacara a common name?
We classify Jacara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 417 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jacara most popular?
The single biggest year for Jacara was 1998, when 70 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jacara is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jacara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jacara 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.
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.