Lara is a feminine given name or a surname in several languages. It can be used as a short form of the name Larissa. It was popularized in the Anglosphere by a character in the 1965 film Dr. Zhivago. Lara is also a water nymph in Roman Mythology who is the mother of the Lares. The name is of uncertain etymology. The name has been among the top 1,000 names used for newborn girls in the United States since 1966, the year after the film Dr. Zhivago debuted. The name has also seen wide use in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and across Europe.

Given name

Surname

Cultural origins

The Spanish surname Lara is derived from Lara de los Infantes, in the Burgos province of Spain, and in some cases retains the original form, de Lara ('of Lara'); there are also Lara surnames in France and Romania.

People with the surname

Fictional characters with the name

Mythological characters with the name