Find out how popular the last name Kara is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kara.

Kara, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kara surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kara in America

Kara is the 20322nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kara surname appeared 1,308 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kara.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kara to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kara

The surname Kara has its origins in Turkey, dating back to the 11th century CE. It is derived from the Turkish word "kara," which means "black" or "dark." This name was likely given as a descriptive nickname or referred to a person's physical appearance or complexion.

In the early centuries of its existence, the name Kara was primarily found in regions of Anatolia, which is now part of modern-day Turkey. It was common among Turkic nomadic tribes and later spread to other parts of the Ottoman Empire.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kara can be found in the Divan-ı Lügat-it Türk, a comprehensive dictionary of Turkic dialects compiled in the 11th century by Mahmud al-Kashgari. This work includes several references to the word "kara" and its various meanings.

During the Ottoman period, several notable individuals bore the surname Kara. One such person was Kara Mustafa Pasha (1634-1683), an Ottoman grand vizier who led the Ottoman forces during the siege of Vienna in 1683. Another was Kara Khalil Pasha (fl. 17th century), an Ottoman military commander and Grand Vizier.

In the 18th century, the name Kara appeared in the Köyler Defteri, a registry of villages and settlements in the Ottoman Empire. This record mentions various place names containing the word "Kara," such as Karaağaç (meaning "black tree") and Karacahisar (meaning "black fortress").

Among the famous figures with the surname Kara in more recent history are Tekin Kara (1911-1984), a Turkish writer and poet, and Hasan Kara (1924-2015), a Turkish philosopher and academic.

It is worth noting that the name Kara has also been found in other regions and cultures, although its origins and meanings may differ. For example, in India, the name Kara is derived from the Sanskrit word "kāra," meaning "maker" or "doer."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kara

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kara.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kara was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kara has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kara was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kara, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!