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Help[Opinions] Dara and Cara
Dara is a name that was used quietly for girls in the US between about 1960-1990. I've only met one Dara, and her name was pronounced like the word dare +a (DER-ə using the BtN key). My old name dictionary says it's from Semitic "pearl of wisdom" and was mentioned as a male name in the Bible, and suggests its use for girls could have been an attempt to create a feminine form of names like Darren and Daryl that were popular during that time. It also peaks with the much more popular Tara.
There's a little girl named Dara in my neighborhood, so I've been thinking about it lately. What do you think of Dara (f) (DER-ə, DARE-a)?
Then there's the name Dareth, which has been used for girls very rarely, mostly in the late 70s. I have met one Dareth, born mid-80s. What do you think of that name?
And Cara:
How do you pronounce it - like car, or like care?
Do you like it?
Do you pronounce Kara the same way?
Do you like Kara?
- mirfak
There's a little girl named Dara in my neighborhood, so I've been thinking about it lately. What do you think of Dara (f) (DER-ə, DARE-a)?
Then there's the name Dareth, which has been used for girls very rarely, mostly in the late 70s. I have met one Dareth, born mid-80s. What do you think of that name?
And Cara:
How do you pronounce it - like car, or like care?
Do you like it?
Do you pronounce Kara the same way?
Do you like Kara?
- mirfak
This message was edited 5/6/2015, 11:13 PM
Archived Thread - replies disabled
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Replies
Dara is alright, but I'd take Cara or even Tara over it any day. Dareth isn't working for me. It sounds like a made-up way to honor a Darren or feminize the name.
I pronounce Cara like care-ah. I do like it- it's grown on me- however, I think it's a tad dull. And yes, I pronounce Kara the same way, but I don't like the K spelling.
I pronounce Cara like care-ah. I do like it- it's grown on me- however, I think it's a tad dull. And yes, I pronounce Kara the same way, but I don't like the K spelling.
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I LOVE Dara as DAH-rah. DARE-ah does nothing for me, though. Dareth sounds like a word you'd find in the Bible. "And the Lord God spoke unto Moses and said, "I dareth thee to go forth among they people!" or something.
I pronounce Cara and Kara as CAR-ah. I don't like either of them. They seem cutesy and insubstantial. If I had to pick I guess I'd go with Kara, since Cara is 100% the Spanish/Italian word.
I pronounce Cara and Kara as CAR-ah. I don't like either of them. They seem cutesy and insubstantial. If I had to pick I guess I'd go with Kara, since Cara is 100% the Spanish/Italian word.
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They're both nice, but just kind of meh. I don't really like the repeating vowel sound they'd make in my mind (care-uh, cah-rah or dare-uh, dah-rah).
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I would have pronounced Dara differently. Dar to rhyme with car, like Darlene. Pronounced that way, I find it a bit pretentious sounding, but okay.
Pronounced Dare-a, I don't like it. It feels silly - like it's almost Tara but not quite.
I pronounce Cara like care-a.
And Kara the same.
I don't dislike them, I just find Cara and Kara a bit uninteresting.
Pronounced Dare-a, I don't like it. It feels silly - like it's almost Tara but not quite.
I pronounce Cara like care-a.
And Kara the same.
I don't dislike them, I just find Cara and Kara a bit uninteresting.
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I remember my mother talking about a woman named Dara;Mum referred to her as "old Dara Lastname".Which would seem to say she was older than Mum, by quite a bit.
As I'm an older person these days, that Dara must have been born quite a while back.
That's the only time I've heard the name, though.
I say it Dare-a, as Rox does, and you as well.
I don't dislike the name, am neutral about it.
Dareth-I kind of like it.
Cara-I say it like care.Again, I don't dislike it, but it's a flimsy-seeming name to me.Dandelion-fluff name.
I say Kara the same way, and although the K helps a little bit, it's still not solid enough.
As I'm an older person these days, that Dara must have been born quite a while back.
That's the only time I've heard the name, though.
I say it Dare-a, as Rox does, and you as well.
I don't dislike the name, am neutral about it.
Dareth-I kind of like it.
Cara-I say it like care.Again, I don't dislike it, but it's a flimsy-seeming name to me.Dandelion-fluff name.
I say Kara the same way, and although the K helps a little bit, it's still not solid enough.
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I like Dara, but I really want to say "DARR-uh" (like Daria, without the i). Which in itself is odd, since I'm Canadian and we say the first syllable of Sarah/Sara, Clara, Lara, and Tara to rhyme with "share". But there's something exotic about Dara that makes me want to treat it like Mara, which rhymes with "star". One of my friends has a cousin Tara that they say like British people, "TARR-uh", and it's SO WEIRD to hear/say it that way. I mean, I enjoy it, but it feels kind of unnatural.
I also enjoy Dareth, which seems like a totally awesome way to honour Darth Vader on a girl.
Cara is ok - I have a second cousin named Kara, so it's familiar to me. I definitely prefer the Cara spelling. We say it "kair-uh" - same pronunciation for both spellings.
I also enjoy Dareth, which seems like a totally awesome way to honour Darth Vader on a girl.
Cara is ok - I have a second cousin named Kara, so it's familiar to me. I definitely prefer the Cara spelling. We say it "kair-uh" - same pronunciation for both spellings.
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Darth Vader, lol.
I knew a Californian woman in the early 90s who had a young daughter named Dareth. It's a 70s style hippie name, is my impression - along the lines of Dusty or Tangela or Venus, but new-age-ier. She had some explanation of its meaning and origin that I can't remember, but she believed it was an old and rare name, as far as I could tell.
I have trouble with TAR-a / TAIR-a too. I get used to one, and then meet someone who's the other, and screw it up. A Tara I know (pron. Terra) said that when she went to England, people teased her when she introduced herself. They'd laugh and say "Oh, like a 'little terror'?"
I knew a Californian woman in the early 90s who had a young daughter named Dareth. It's a 70s style hippie name, is my impression - along the lines of Dusty or Tangela or Venus, but new-age-ier. She had some explanation of its meaning and origin that I can't remember, but she believed it was an old and rare name, as far as I could tell.
I have trouble with TAR-a / TAIR-a too. I get used to one, and then meet someone who's the other, and screw it up. A Tara I know (pron. Terra) said that when she went to England, people teased her when she introduced herself. They'd laugh and say "Oh, like a 'little terror'?"
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I'd pronounce Dara and Cara as Dah-rah and Kah-rah. So both rhyme with names like Tara or Sara(h).
Dara somehow looks incomplete to me, like Daria (which I like) without the i. However, I prefer it over Dareth which reminds me too much of Gareth.
I think Cara/Kara is okay as long as it's not pronounced Care-a.
ETA: I pronounce Kara just like Cara.
Dara somehow looks incomplete to me, like Daria (which I like) without the i. However, I prefer it over Dareth which reminds me too much of Gareth.
I think Cara/Kara is okay as long as it's not pronounced Care-a.
ETA: I pronounce Kara just like Cara.
This message was edited 5/7/2015, 6:44 AM
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I think that the DARE-a pronunciation probably is an American thing, yeah. It might even be regional (mostly used in the South) - not sure. The only Dara I've met lived in Texas, and I think the ones Roxstar met were probably in Oklahoma (?).
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Thanks!
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Dara is okay, I guess. I pronounce it Dare=a, as that's how the two Daras I have met pronounced it. One was a kid in Vacation Bible School when I was little. Her last name had the word Big in it and it was funny because she was almost as small as I was.
A teacher in sixth grade had two daughters who were I guess college-age or thereabouts. Dara and Desiree.
Dareth looks and sounds ugly. Like Ye Olde English: Dost thou dareth to smite and besmirch yon varlet?" like that.
Cara I pronounce Care-a and have never heard anybody in real life say it any different. Same with Kara. I really like the name. Slightly prefer Cara but not by much.
A teacher in sixth grade had two daughters who were I guess college-age or thereabouts. Dara and Desiree.
Dareth looks and sounds ugly. Like Ye Olde English: Dost thou dareth to smite and besmirch yon varlet?" like that.
Cara I pronounce Care-a and have never heard anybody in real life say it any different. Same with Kara. I really like the name. Slightly prefer Cara but not by much.
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I suppose the -a ending led to the gender-bend. I expect a male Irishman, probably with a -gh at the end. Of the name, not necessarily of the Irishman. Ahem.
In which case it'd be DARRa. Short a.
Cara would be like car with an -a. Never heard it sounding like care, and it was well used where I live at one time.
I'd pronounce Kara the same.
I prefer the C spelling, but I find them both rather flimsy and very dated.
In which case it'd be DARRa. Short a.
Cara would be like car with an -a. Never heard it sounding like care, and it was well used where I live at one time.
I'd pronounce Kara the same.
I prefer the C spelling, but I find them both rather flimsy and very dated.
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Coincidences do happen - Dana (DAHna) is frequently used in South Africa as a nn for Daniel, for instance.
I knew a Derryn (f) who was a 70s baby, but that's as close as it gets. Was there perhaps a celeb or media stimulus leading to the fem use of Dara back then, do you know? Or even a simple wish to find a name close to but not identical with Cara?
I knew a Derryn (f) who was a 70s baby, but that's as close as it gets. Was there perhaps a celeb or media stimulus leading to the fem use of Dara back then, do you know? Or even a simple wish to find a name close to but not identical with Cara?
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The only thing I can find is, there was a character in a popular fantasy series that was written beginning in 1970 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chronicles_of_Amber_characters
Maybe the character name contributed to exposure and made it seem more usable to people. But IMO, usually, pop character-names suit fashions that are already in the process of becoming. Daryl was being used as a feminine name occasionally (actress Daryl Hannah was born 1960), as was Dale - and Dara sounds a lot like Tara (both usually had the AIR sound in the US) too. A bunch of "Dare" names were in fashion during the same period: http://www.behindthename.com/top/name/dara,daryl,darren,darrell,darryl
Maybe the character name contributed to exposure and made it seem more usable to people. But IMO, usually, pop character-names suit fashions that are already in the process of becoming. Daryl was being used as a feminine name occasionally (actress Daryl Hannah was born 1960), as was Dale - and Dara sounds a lot like Tara (both usually had the AIR sound in the US) too. A bunch of "Dare" names were in fashion during the same period: http://www.behindthename.com/top/name/dara,daryl,darren,darrell,darryl
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By instinct I pronounce them both like Tara - i.e. to rhyme with car plus -uh yet I pronounce Clara as clair-uh probably due to hearing it pronounced that way at home whenever mum bought tulip bulbs of the hybrid called "Dame Clara Butt" after a British opera singer.
Anyway, Dara is okay but Cara is my preference out of the two, probably owing to its links to the Welsh "love" and thus to whichever remote ancestor of mine was called Caradoc (giving the family name Cradock) and the fact that it's the name of a friend's toddler.
Cora just reminds me of an apple corer ...
Anyway, Dara is okay but Cara is my preference out of the two, probably owing to its links to the Welsh "love" and thus to whichever remote ancestor of mine was called Caradoc (giving the family name Cradock) and the fact that it's the name of a friend's toddler.
Cora just reminds me of an apple corer ...
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The only Dara I know of is a man: Dara Ó Briain, a radio & TV comedian. He's well-known & probably the main association most Brits have with the name. It's pronounced (more or less, depending on accent) with the a in car or bra, as are Tara, Cara and Sara - but strangely, not Sarah, which is sare-uh. English is weird. :)
Dera wouldn't be too bad; sounds okay & looks interesting.
Dareth sounds too much like Dafydd (dav idh) or Gareth to appeal to me on a girl.
Cara is quite nice though. It's maybe a bit flimsy, but I like the sound and the simplicity. Prefer this spelling.
Dera wouldn't be too bad; sounds okay & looks interesting.
Dareth sounds too much like Dafydd (dav idh) or Gareth to appeal to me on a girl.
Cara is quite nice though. It's maybe a bit flimsy, but I like the sound and the simplicity. Prefer this spelling.
This message was edited 5/7/2015, 12:36 AM
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I absolutely love Dara / Darragh / Daire all pronounced DAWR-uh for a boy, so Dara for a girl doesn't really appeal to me.
I want to like Cara more than I do, I feel like it should appeal to me, because I love Sarah and Clara, and like Cora so I should like this name too, but I just don't. I mean, it's fine but it just feels kind of "meh" it's just kind of there. I feel like there is just something missing from it.
I pronounce Cara and Kara the same, everyone with either of these names I've met pronounces it with a "care" sound.
I want to like Cara more than I do, I feel like it should appeal to me, because I love Sarah and Clara, and like Cora so I should like this name too, but I just don't. I mean, it's fine but it just feels kind of "meh" it's just kind of there. I feel like there is just something missing from it.
I pronounce Cara and Kara the same, everyone with either of these names I've met pronounces it with a "care" sound.
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