Kara (name)

Kara is both a given name and a surname with various, unrelated origins in various cultures. As an English name, it is a spelling variant of the Italian endearment cara, meaning beloved, or the Irish word cara, meaning friend, or a hypocorism for the name Caroline. It was popularized in the 20th century by the DC Comics superheroine Kara Zor-El.

Notable people with the name include:

Given name

• Kara Kennedy Allen (1960–2011), professional board member and a television producer
• Kara Arslan (r. 1144–1174 CE), Turkic rulers
• Kara Bajema (born 1998), American volleyball player
• Kara Brock (born 1974), American actress
• Kara Mahmud Bushati (1749–1796), noble of the Bushati family
• Kara Cooney, American Egyptologist, archaeologist, professor
• Kara Crane (fl. 2006–present) American actress
• Kara David (born 1973), Filipina broadcast journalist and television host
• Kara DioGuardi (born 1970), American singer-songwriter
• Kara Drew, known as Cherry (American wrestler) (born 1975), American professional wrestler, manager, and former WWE Diva
• Kara Eaker (born 2002), American artistic gymnast
• Kara Edwards (born 1977), American voice actress
• Kara Fatma (1888–1955), Turkish heroine
• Kara Goldin (born 1967/68), American businesswoman
• Kara Goucher (born 1978), American long-distance runner
• Kara Grainger, Australian soul blues and roots rock singer-songwriter
• Kara Hayward (born 1998), American actress
• Kara Henderson (born 1973), American sports media personality
• Kara Hultgreen (1965–1994), American aviator
• Kara Karaev (1918–1982), Azerbaijani composer
• Kara Jackson ,American poet, singer, and songwriter
• Kara Kennedy (1960–2011), American corporate director and television producer
• Kara Killmer (born 1988), American actress
• Kara Laricks, (born 1973) American fashion designer
• Kara Lawson (born 1981), American basketball coach and player
• Kara Lindsay (born 1985), American theatre actress
• Kara Lord (born 1988), Miss Guyana Universe 2011
• Kara Mbodj (born 1989), Senegalese footballer
• Kara Monaco (born 1983), Playboy model
• Kara Ahmed Pasha (died 1555), Ottoman statesman of Albanian origin
• Kara Mustafa Pasha (1634/5–1683), Ottoman military leader
• Kara Neumann case, in which parents of a sick child treated her with only prayer, resulting in the child's death in 2008
• Kara Nova (active since 2011), American pole acrobat
• Kara Yülük Osman, Turkish name of Qara Osman (before 1400–1435), Turkish ruler
• Kara Ro (born 1975), Canadian boxer
• Kara Ross (born 1966/1967), American jewelry designer
• Kara Saun
• Kara Scott , Canadian British TV personality, journalist and poker player
• Kara Wagner Sherer, American Episcopal priest
• Kara Swisher (born 1962), American journalist
• Kara Taitz (born 1981), American actress
• Kára Temple (born 1991), American beauty queen
• Kara Tointon (born 1983), English actress
• Kara Vallow, American television animation producer
• Kara Wai (born 1960), Hong Kong actress
• Kara Walker (born 1969), contemporary African-American artist
• Kara Wilson (born 1944), Scottish actress
• Kara Winger (born 1986), American track and field athlete
• Kara Wolters (born 1975), American basketball player
• Kara Zediker, American actress

Middle name

• Deborah Kara Unger (born 1966), Canadian actress

Surname

• Abir Kara (born 1983), Israeli businessman and politician
• Anksa Kara (born 1985), Cameroonian-born actress
• Ayoob Kara (born 1955), Druze Israeli politician
• Aytaç Kara (born 1993), Turkish footballer
• Burcu Kara (born 1980), Turkish actress
• Danae Kara (born 1953), Greek classical concert pianist
• Ercan Kara (born 1996), Austrian footballer
• Fatma Kara (born 1991), Turkish footballer
• Handan Kara (1939–2017), Turkish classical music singer
• Joseph Kara, also known as Mahari Kara, (c.1065 – c.1135), French Bible exegete
• Kai Kara-France (born 1993), New Zealand mixed martial artist
• Miriam Kara (born 1938), Israeli Olympic gymnast
• Nader Kara (born 1980), Libyan footballer
• Patricia Kara (born 1972), American entertainer
• Princess Kara (born 2000), Nigerian discus thrower
• Rasim Kara (born 1950), Turkish footballer
• Theodore Kara (1916–1944), American featherweight boxer
• Sergey Kara-Murza (born 1939), Russian chemist, historian, political philosopher and sociologist
• Vladimir Kara-Murza (born 1981), Russian politician
• Vladimir Kara-Murza Sr. (1959–2019), Russian journalist and TV host
• Anel Karabeg (born 1962), Bosnian footballer
• Osman Karabegović (1911-1996), Bosnian politician

Mythical or fictional characters

• Kára, a valkyrie in Norse mythology
• Supergirl's original Kryptonian name in the comics is Kara Zor-El, and in some of the more recent adaptations of the character she uses "Kara" in her civilian life as well:
  • On the Smallville TV series she was Kara Kent.
  • On Superman: The Animated Series she's not Kryptonian but is still named Kara (In-Ze).
  • Her comic-book alternate-universe counterpart from Earth-2, Power Girl, is Kara Zor-L.
  • On the CW Supergirl series her civilian name is Kara Danvers.
• Kara Ben Nemsi, in the works of German writer Karl May
• Kara Milovy, Bond girl from The Living Daylights
• Kara Thrace, in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise
• Kara, the Jungle Princess, an Exciting Comics character
• Kara Cupper, a child character in Shining Time Station
• Kara, one of the three android protagonists of the videogame Detroit: Become Human
• Kara, a character Susan Strong's real name in the Adventure Time

See also

• All pages with titles beginning with Kara
• All pages with titles containing Kara
• Kara (disambiguation)
• Cara (given name)
• Cara (disambiguation) § People, includes a list of people with the surname Cara
• Kaja (name)
• Karra (name)