Lakara
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly from Sanskrit meaning "beautiful one".
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Lakara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lakara today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lakara births was 1989 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lakara. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lakara. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
1989
10 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1995 SSA rank
#11,180
Tracked since 1978
Census
Lakara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 116 people with the first name Lakara, which placed it at #51,012 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
#51,012
National first-name rank
People counted
116
116 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
83.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lakara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakara is Black at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.6%) and White (6.9%). 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 Lakara 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 Lakara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.6% · 97
- Two or more races8.6% · 10
- White6.9% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Popularity
Lakara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lakara from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 43 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Lakara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lakara 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 Lakara 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 Lakara
The name Lakara has its origins in ancient Sanskrit, one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages of the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word "lakara," which translates to "wave" or "undulation." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with the rhythmic movements of water, perhaps as a reference to the ebb and flow of rivers or the crashing of waves against the shore.
In the early centuries of the first millennium, the name Lakara appeared in various Hindu scriptures and ancient texts, often as a reference to the divine feminine energy or as a name bestowed upon mythological figures. One notable example can be found in the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, where the name is mentioned in the context of a celestial nymph.
The earliest recorded instance of an individual bearing the name Lakara dates back to the 5th century CE. Inscriptions from this period mention a princess named Lakara, who was a member of the Gupta Empire, one of the most influential dynasties in ancient Indian history. Her name was etched onto stone pillars and temple walls, a testament to her significance during that era.
Throughout the following centuries, the name Lakara continued to be used across various regions of the Indian subcontinent, often among the aristocratic and scholarly classes. One notable figure was Lakara Pandita, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 9th century CE. His works on grammar and linguistics were widely studied and revered during his time.
In the 12th century, a Rajput princess named Lakara gained recognition for her bravery and leadership in the face of adversity. Historical accounts depict her as a skilled warrior who fearlessly defended her kingdom against invaders, earning her a place in the annals of Indian history.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Lakara was a 16th-century Mughal courtier and poet. Known for her eloquence and artistic talents, she served as a confidante and advisor to several Mughal emperors, influencing the cultural and literary landscape of the era.
While the name Lakara has deep historical roots in the Indian subcontinent, its usage has transcended geographical boundaries over the centuries. It has been adopted and adapted by various cultures, reflecting the rich tapestry of global diversity and the enduring legacy of ancient names.
People
Lakara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lakara as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lakara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lakara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lakara 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Lakara a common name?
We classify Lakara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 79 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lakara most popular?
The single biggest year for Lakara was 1989, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lakara is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lakara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 116 people with the name Lakara, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,012 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 Lakara 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 Lakara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lakara appears almost entirely female. Of the 115 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Lakara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakara is Black at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.6%) and White (6.9%). 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 Lakara most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lakara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.6% (97 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 Lakara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lakara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lakara 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 Lakara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lakara 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 Lakara 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 common is the name Lakara?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.