Meaning and background
The story behind Tara
Tara brings together genuinely different naming traditions. In Irish use it is associated with Teamhair, the historic Hill of Tara. In Sanskrit, tārā means “star” and is also a divine name in Hindu and Buddhist contexts. They are not stages of one etymology, so a bare statement that all Taras mean “star” would erase an important distinction.
- Origin
- Distinct origins: an Irish place-name association with Teamhair (Hill of Tara); independently, Sanskrit tārā “star”, also a religious name. Source
Try Tara out loud
Everyday moments“Tara, come here!”
Say it as you would on a walk or at home. Does it feel natural alongside your usual commands and other pets’ names?
About Tara
Recorded as a dog’s name
Tara appears in 18 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/tɛɹə/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
Other dictionary readings and notation
/tɛɹə/ · primary stress on syllable 1T EH1 R AH0
/tɑɹə/ · primary stress on syllable 1T AA1 R AH0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
Compare your favourites
Put Tara beside another name before you decide.
Explore names like Tara
Narrow the finder by the features you want to keep.
Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.