Solara
A feminine name derived from Spanish meaning "coming from the sun".
Name Census estimates that about 706 living Americans carry the first name Solara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Solara today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Solara births was 2011 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Solara. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Solara with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
706
~ 1 in 485,488 Americans
Peak year
2011
71 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,738
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Solara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Solara from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 458 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Solara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Solara 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 Solara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Solaras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Solara, while Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Solara
The name Solara is a relatively modern invention, first appearing in the latter half of the 20th century. It is a combination of the Latin words "sol" meaning sun and "ara" meaning altar or to radiate. As such, the name is symbolic of radiant sunshine or solar energy.
Despite its recent origins, the name Solara has been embraced by various cultures around the world, likely due to its poetic and celestial connotations. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Solara was in the 1973 science fiction novel "Rendez-vous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke, where it was the name of a fictional spacecraft.
While not a traditional name, Solara has been adopted by a handful of notable individuals over the past few decades. One of the first was Solara An-Ra, an American singer-songwriter and actress born in 1949. Another early bearer of the name was Solara Vayanian, an Armenian-American actress born in 1965.
In more recent times, the name Solara has gained some prominence in popular culture. Solara Mendoza, born in 1990, is a Mexican actress and model known for her work in telenovelas. Solara Munroe, born in 1999, is an American singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a contestant on the reality show "The Voice" in 2018.
Perhaps the most famous individual with the name Solara is the character of the same name played by actress Tilda Swinton in the 2007 post-apocalyptic film "The Sunshine." In the movie, Solara is a member of a crew tasked with reigniting the dying sun.
While still relatively uncommon, the name Solara has undoubtedly captured the imagination of many parents seeking a unique and evocative name for their children. Its celestial and radiant connotations make it a poetic choice for those drawn to names with a connection to the natural world and the cosmos.
People
Solara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Solara as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Solara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Solara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 706 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Solara 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 485,488 US residents.
Is Solara a common name?
We classify Solara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 712 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Solara most popular?
The single biggest year for Solara was 2011, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Solara is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Solara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Solara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Solara 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 Solara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Solara 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 Solara 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Solara?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.