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.[1]
Lara is also a water nymph in Roman Mythology who is the mother of the Lares. The name is of uncertain etymology.[2]
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.[3]
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');[4] there are also Lara surnames in France and Romania.
People with the surname
- Adelina de Lara (1872–1961), British pianist and composer
- Adriana Lara, Mexican computer scientist
- Agustín Lara (1900–1970), Mexican composer
- Alda Lara, poet
- Alexandra Maria Lara, Romanian actress
- Alonso Manrique de Lara, Roman Catholic bishop
- Antonio Lara de Gavilán, Spanish artist
- Antonio Lara Zárate (1881–1956), Spanish lawyer and politician
- Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara, politician
- Blanca de La Cerda y Lara, Spanish noblewoman
- Brian Lara (born 1969), Trinidadian cricketer
- Brigido Lara, Mexican artist
- Carlos Lara Bareiro, Paraguayan composer
- Catherine Lara, French violinist, composer and singer
- Cayo Lara (born 1952), Spanish politician
- Christian Lara, Ecuadorian footballer
- Christian Lara, Guadeloupean film director
- Claude Autant-Lara, French film director
- Daniel Lara, subject of the 2016 Damn Daniel internet meme
- Daniel García Lara, football striker
- David Laurent de Lara (c.1806–1876), illuminator
- Dona Ivone Lara (1922 – 2018), Brazilian singer and composer
- Eduardo Lara, Colombian football manager
- Emilio Lara (weightlifter), Cuban weightlifter
- Erislandy Lara, Cuban boxer
- Eurico Lara (1897–1935), Brazilian footballer
- Francisco José Lara, Spanish professional road bicycle racer
- Georgia Lara, Greek water polo player
- Guillermo Lara, politician
- Isidore de Lara, English composer
- Jacinto Lara (1777–1859), Venezuelan independence leader
- Jami Porter Lara, American artist
- Jerónimo Manrique de Lara, General Inquisitor
- Joe Lara, American actor and musician
- José Manuel Lara, Spanish golfer
- Juan Lara, baseball player
- Juan Jesús Vivas Lara, Spanish politician
- Joaquin Gallegos Lara, Ecuadorian writer and poet
- Kiki Lara, Mexican soccer player
- Louis, comte de Narbonne-Lara, French soldier and diplomat
- Lucas Martínez Lara, Roman Catholic bishop
- Lúcio Lara, former General Secretary of the MPLA
- Luisa María Lara (born 1966), Spanish astrophysicist
- María Teresa Lara, a Mexican composer
- Maritza Lara-López, Mexican astronomer
- Martha Lara (fl. late 20th century), Mexican diplomat & politician
- Martín Acosta y Lara, Uruguayan basketball player
- Modesto Lara (born 1973), Dominican Republic judoka
- Nil Lara, American musician
- Oruno Lara, Guadeloupean poet, author and historian
- Osvaldo Lara (born 1955), Cuban track and field sprinter
- Pablo Lara, Cuban weightlifter
- Rafael Paulo de Lara Araújo, Brazilian basketball player
- Raúl Lara, soccer player
- Ricardo Lara, California politician
- Rocío Lara, Muppeteer
- Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, Colombian politician
- Rosalio José Castillo Lara, Roman Catholic cardinal
- Saúl Lara, Bolivian politician
- Silvia Lara Povedano, Costa Rican politician and sociologist
- Tino de Lara, Filipino actor
- Tito Lara, Puerto Rican singer
- Willian Lara (1957–2010), Venezuelan politician
- Víctor Neumann-Lara, Mexican mathematician
- Marlon Guillermo Lara Orellana, politician
- Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir, Icelandic footballer
