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Baby names

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

Original poster

Cara or Kara?

55 replies

EspressoPatronum · 30/04/2019 11:55

Cara is the Irish spelling, meaning friend, Kára is Norse and means little wild one or curly one.

I like both, think Cara is more likely to be spelt right but love the Valkyrie link and meanings of Kára. Dh (who is Irish) prefers Kára.

Halp!

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WildCherryBlossom · 30/04/2019 21:46

Cara looks much prettier. Kara is too Kardashian.

SemperIdem · 01/05/2019 00:48

I’ve only ever met Kara’s so would assume that spelling over Cara.

Lovely name though, either way.

Antonin · 01/05/2019 14:26

Quite easy to tell people “Kara with a K” . No ambiguity or difficulty there.

nelsonmuntzslingshot · 01/05/2019 14:28

Cara - 'friend' in Gaelic and 'dear one' in Italian.

mydogisthebest · 01/05/2019 14:34

I prefer Kara and would always think the name is spelt with a K. I know 1 Cara and 1 Kara

Original poster
EspressoPatronum · 01/05/2019 17:57

Thanks all!
I still can't decide which I prefer, I might have to work then both out a few times to see if that helps!!

OP posts:
MumUnderTheMoon · 04/05/2019 01:40

Kara can also mean proud maiden. I like it with a "k" but people generally will use a "c" so you will probably be correcting people often. It's not that big a deal though.

AhNowTed · 04/05/2019 01:44

Cara

Definitely.

Marty93 · 04/05/2019 16:03

I think Cara looks neater when written out, but I love the meaning of Kàra ... especially if she does have curly hair !

PetraRabbit · 04/05/2019 23:18

Cara sounds very Italian, Kara sounds very modern American. Depends on which you prefer.

TrixieFranklin · 04/05/2019 23:35

It's Cara

MollyHuaCha · 04/05/2019 23:59

Cara

SemperIdem · 05/05/2019 00:38

Petra

They sound exactly the same regardless of spelling Hmm

Theoldwoman · 05/05/2019 00:42

I like the look of the C spelling. The meaning wouldn't matter.

FrancisCrawford · 05/05/2019 00:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mathanxiety · 05/05/2019 00:50

The 'cara mia' pronunciation is the only one that sounds the way the name is usually pronounced.

The Irish word 'cara' is pronounced more like corra.

I would go for the C spelling but if your DH likes the K you might as well choose that unless you have a major objection.

Stillamum3 · 05/05/2019 01:04

I thought Cara meant dearest, or similar.

Allthecolours · 05/05/2019 05:58

I have a Kara, my daughter prefers it because the K means that the start of her name isn't "car". She likes her name so it was a good choice.

SilverySurfer · 05/05/2019 14:39

Cara - no contest.

Still18atheart · 05/05/2019 14:40

Cara= super model
Kara = a lovely person I know Smile

Whoops75 · 05/05/2019 14:42

Cara

Kara looks wrong to me, I’m Irish

daisypond · 05/05/2019 14:44

Cara is an Italian name/word to me and by far my first thought. I would never imagine Kara.

Stravapalava · 05/05/2019 23:11

Cara

abiirthdaycake · 06/05/2019 01:19

Assuming the Norse Kára is pronounced the same as Icelandic Kára - it's pronounced cow-ra with a rolled R (cow as in the animal), not the same as the Irish Cara. The rolled R could probably be dropped without purists being super bothered, young people in Iceland seem to drop it a lot these days apparently, but the vowel sound is completely different. I don't know if that makes a difference to you.

I'd still consider Kara (rather than Kára) a legitimate spelling, though. I don't know what language it's from but I imagine there's at least one where it's spelled Kara and pronounced Cara

PinkFluffyFairy · 06/05/2019 08:07

Wait till she’s born and then decide once you’ve seen her.

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