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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Lara - why isn't it more popular?

58 replies

GeorgianaDevonshire · 19/06/2015 23:07

I would have loved to have called DD Lara but it didn't go with our surname: Lara Landon just didn't sound right.

My friend has called her DD Lara and people say what a lovely name it is but there don't seem to be many about.

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Therein2tics · 26/06/2015 13:52

I like the name but probably would have considered other -ara names too like Clara and Cara.
Can't say why exactly, nothing wrong with name Lara to me, just doesnt grab me.

JulyKit · 26/06/2015 10:05

Another one here who loves the name - as a diminutive of Larissa and in its own right.

I think it's lack of 'popularity' is maybe because of its similarity to Laura - also a beautiful name, but not so fashionable now ass it was so popular a generation or so back, and therefore falls foul of the current obsession with 'yooneek'-ness.

Both names are, IMO, too unpretentious to be really 'popular'.

Question: Should 'Babynames' be renamed 'Am I Being Unusual'? It might be appropriate. Wink

Mygardenistoobig · 26/06/2015 09:55

I think it's very similar to Laura, Lauren and Lorna and they had their peak a few years ago.

Billynoname · 25/06/2015 23:34

It's pretty dull, I think that's why. I can't understand the apparent mumsnetty love of Clara either- also a bit dull to my ears....

SaulGood · 25/06/2015 20:03

It does seem a bit meh but I can't work out why. It starts off well with a positive, emphatic 'L' sound but then it just sort of degenerates into a noise. Like a weak growl. Makes it seem ineffectual. My mouth almost feels like it can't be bothered by the time it reaches the 'r'.

Laura and Lorna are both beautiful though. I think the 'au' and 'or' sounds add a bit of weight to it. Much more balanced.

DefinitelyMaybeBaby · 25/06/2015 19:43

Chocolate - I laughed at your husband's "couple of vowels with some letters in between" we are considering Jude for our ds due soon and although I do like it
something about it doesn't work for me but I struggled to explain it in words and that sums it up perfectly!

I agree Lara is a bit meh. A girl I worked with used it recently for her dd and it was met with a very lukewarm reception in the office. No one really seemed to love it. I think it's a bit dated too and also think of 90s throwback Lara Croft in her leathers on posters in teenage boys rooms!

FuckitFay · 25/06/2015 13:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Athenaviolet · 25/06/2015 13:11

I think it is odd that it's not more popular.

It's just as nice a name as most of the top names.

I think it will become more popular in the future.

Clawdy · 24/06/2015 21:47

Lara in Dr Zhivago was such a strong and beautiful character, so the name always sounds lovely to me.

franksidebottom · 24/06/2015 12:47

My oldest dd is called lara. I did get it from lara Croft but i don't care. I love it.

PeppermintCrayon · 24/06/2015 06:33

It's nicer than Lara but does get nicknamed La La!

EmmaWoodlouse · 22/06/2015 21:04

I agree with the person who found it "nothingy". Having said that I like it better than Lana which someone I know did use for her DD.

chocolateandbroccoli · 20/06/2015 22:24

I wanted it for DD2 but DH vetoed it on the basis that it was 'just a couple of vowels with the odd letter in between'. The same could be said of other names - Anna, Emma etc but for some reason the latter seem to have a bit more about them to me. I liked the fact that it's short, pretty and easy to spell and would travel well.

In the event DD2 looked nothing like a Lara and wouldn't have suited the name in the slightest so I'm glad we took a while arguing over it naming her.

I'm currently expecting DD3 and we're considering Greta, Thea and Flora this time round.

Welshcyclist · 20/06/2015 21:46

We have a one year old Lara as we loved the name from Dr Zhivago, we hadn't even thought of Lara Croft.

Original poster
GeorgianaDevonshire · 20/06/2015 12:15

Thanks for replies

Dr Zhivago came out in the 60s so I'd be surprised if it influenced parents of new babies. I hadn't made the connection with Lara Croft but then it's not my sort of film.

I don't understand how a name can be a non name.

OP posts:
JassyRadlett · 20/06/2015 12:13

There are two little Laras at nursery - also a Lena, Lila and Lola.

HollyBen · 20/06/2015 12:11

I have met a 4 year old Lara recently. Agree it's nice but a bit blah

KoalaDownUnder · 20/06/2015 12:09

It's very 70s/80s dated to me. I went to school with a few Laras, and I'm 41.

It's not the most stylish name, to my ears. Lara's siblings would be called something like Travis and Belinda.

Not horrible, just not appealing, tbh.

NadiaWadia · 20/06/2015 12:09

I don't see why, I suppose you would say the same about Anna, then, or Ava, or Emma?

27inmyhead · 20/06/2015 11:58

It's a non-name. I used to know a Lara but nobody seemed to remember her name.

Benchmark · 20/06/2015 11:55

To me it is very bland like Laura or Lana or Cara Clara Carla, you get the drift - it doesn't stand out for me.

NadiaWadia · 20/06/2015 11:44

Simple, but lovely. Has glamorous associations with Doctor Zhivago and Lara Croft.

RedToothBrush · 20/06/2015 11:42

Lara Croft killed it. Plus L names are starting to drop off in popularity for girls. We've had the Leah and Lucy and Lily thing to death. E and A are the 'in' letters.

florascotia · 20/06/2015 09:58

Perhaps because it's Ancient Greek/Russian and not widely known in the UK until the Dr Zhivago novel/film. I prefer the 'long' version, Larisa/Larissa.

ceebelle83 · 20/06/2015 07:47

I love it so much. It was the name I had picked out for the baby I'm currently carrying...until the day I found out Lara was actually going to be a boy! Hehe!