Comments
Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
Impression
Other
Also Dutch: https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Tara
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I think Tara is a nice name. I would pronounce it as “Taur-uh.” I like its meaning and Irish history, and the fact that you don't hear it everyday. It's really cute.
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Gorgeous and ages so well.
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Even though this name is quite simple, I genuinely really like it! Super pretty and feminine sounding.
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Part of the confusion is that people do not understand that Tara and Terra are two different words, with two different meanings and two different pronunciations. Tara, pronounced tar-uh, is a reference to the home of the ancient Irish kings, as in Hill of Tara. Terra, pronounced tear-uh (as in tear a piece of paper), means earth, land. Over the years people have confused the two so often that the pronunciation of Terra has often been used incorrectly for the pronunciation of Tara. That's why you'll meet so many Taras with their names pronounced tear-uh.
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Tara is a lovely name no matter how you want to pronounce it. I of course prefer to pronounce it as Tar a instead of Tera. It is not a white trash name. Its one of the few Irish names I like and can pronounce without much difficulty.
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Always reminds me of Tara Reid. It's a trashy name for a girl who has no class. In Britain they would call it "common".
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I think of a mean lady.
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Beautiful!
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It's really pretty but it spells "a rat" backwards lol.
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Tara Brennan is the main character of Wendy Mass's book 13 Gifts.
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I pronounce mine like Tair-uh but it's spelled "Tara". I know a lot of people pronounce it differently and that's fine. I think it's more common to be pronounced tar-uh because that's usually what people think when they read it. I personally like the Tair-uh pronunciation better but I think I'm just biased because that's how my name is pronounced.
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My name is Tara, pronounced Taara, the first a is pronounced like the a in cat. I was born in 1979. My mother was set on the name Victoria and my Dad wanted Marcia (like Marcia Brady) and neither would budge. My mom watched the soap opera "All my children and there was a character "Tara Martin" and she randomly said "how about Tara?" And my Dad was like "okay, that sounds like a good name." I'm thankful to ABC, because I wouldn't want to be named either of my parent's first picks. I didn't like it when I was young, I wanted a name like Stacy, Kimmy, Jessica or Amy. Now that I'm older, I really do love my name because it is unique. I feel like it's classic, natural and fun. It works well professionally. It was popular for a short time in the 70's and early 80's but I predict it will be coming back as a popular name. I think Tara is a cute name for a little girl.
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Beautiful.
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My name happens to be Tara, as in "T-air-a". I've always thought it was weird, since growing up in Ohio, I've only met another person with my name once. That was when I was in around 2nd grade, she was a girlfriend of a family member. I barely knew her. As I got older I started hating my name because of how peculiar it was to me and how I always had people pronouncing my name wrong. From my understanding, it probably should be pronounced "Tar-a" but it isn't in my case. I do love the meaning behind my name, but sometimes, I wish my dad would have just named me Terra. Something like Terra, Tamara, or Thalia even would have been great. He just wanted to have a child named after him. His name is Terrance. Terra would have made more sense, and we both agree on that. But I'm glad to now know more about my name and people's opinions on it in order to appreciate it better. I'm not even an adult yet, so hopefully my views on my name can change even more in the future.
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I pronounce it "Tare-uh". Beautiful.
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I love the 'terra' pronunciation, but I despise the tar-uh one. It's ugly on my ears, the first one is much better, and not because it's more popular.
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Simple! I like it pronounced TAHR.
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What a nice rural sound it has! I simply love it!
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My whole life it has been pronounced T air rah, and I like it. If anyone pronounces it Tar-rah it's fine, I just let it go. I agree with that other comment that nobody says Sar-rah and the silent H shouldn't change anything. Anyhow, I just get a kick out of saying in backwards as A RAT!
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Tara McNeill is an Irish singer, fiddler and harpest and current member of Celtic Woman. She pronounces her name TAR-uh (Tar like "black tar").
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In 2018, 38 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Tara who is registered female with the Social Security Administration. It is the 321st most common female first name for living U.S. citizens.
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I love my name. Terra Lynn. I was named after a city in California where my father grew up called Terra Linda. My mother asked me if I was upset that people mispronounced my name as TAH-RAH. I said no, people everywhere have different ways they want their name to be pronounced. Nor do I correct people when they say it how they want. Now if they ask me I will explain my name is Terra like earth. I love how many different ways people say my name. My husband is Spanish and he rolls the R's in my name. It's beautiful no matter how you pronounce it. People sometimes think it's short for Teresa or something but I tell them no, just Terra.
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I like the TAR-uh pronunciation best, but I don't mind TARE-uh or TA-ra (with the A like the A in cat, in that last example) either. I think it's a lovely, simple name that will never completely go out of style. Although I do associate it with women around my age (born 1973) more than younger or older women.
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Tara Dawn Holland was Miss America 1997 and Tara Elizabeth Conner was Miss USA 2006.
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Tara Duncan, the protagonist spellbinder in books and the animated series with same title.
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Tara Teng is a Canadian former pageant winner. She was named Miss Canada in 2011 and Miss World Canada in 2012. During her title reigns she was an advocate for human rights and spoke about human trafficking.
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Tara Deshpande is an Indian actress, writer, former model and MTV VJ. She appeared in several acclaimed films such as Sudhir Mishra's Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin and Kaizad Gustad's Bombay Boys. She married an American citizen and moved to Boston in 2001, she lived in the Boston area where she currently runs a catering agency. Her husband is a graduate of Harvard Business School and is in finance. Tara published her first book at the age of 23, Fifty and Done. Before entering the world of movies she was a model and MTV vj and a regular on the Mumbai stage. She played Begum Sumroo in Alyque Padamsee's play of the same name. Her latest book A Sense for Spice: Recipes and Stories from a Konkan Kitchen has become a best seller. She travels between NYC and Mumbai.
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The name Tara comes from Ireland, being a hill where they would meet and where kings would be crowned. In Spanish, the word for earth is tiara.
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Tara Strong is a Canadian–American actress. She has done voice work for numerous animations and video games and performed in various live-action productions. Many of her major voice roles include animated series such as Rugrats, The Powerpuff Girls, The Fairly Odd Parents, Drawn Together, Teen Titans and the spin-off series Teen Titans Go!, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, as well as video games such as Mortal Kombat X, Final Fantasy X-2, and the Batman: Arkham series. Her portrayals have garnered nominations in the Annie Awards and Daytime Emmys, and an award from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
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I absolutely adore this name, the meaning and the sound, and the wonderful "Gone with the Wind" association.
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Tara Mack is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represented District 57A, which included portions of the cities of Apple Valley and Lakeville in Dakota County, which is in the southeastern part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
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Love the name Tara. I think of a spunky, strong willed girl when I hear it.
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A famous character with the name is Tara Knowles from the TV show Sons of Anarchy.
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The name is thought to have originated with 'Téa' (pronounced something like 'TEE-yeh'), a mythological Irish queen. The hill of Tara, originally called Teamhair (pronounced tee-YEH-wir) is named after her. Queen Téa is called 'the just' in some legends, which is a nice connotation :). Another interesting point is that Queen Téa is said to have brought the Lia Fáil (The Stone of Destiny) to the Hill of Tara, where it still stands today.
As a side note, I am Irish, this is my name, and I pronounce it TARE-ah. In my time in Ireland, no one corrected me on the pronunciation or called me tah-ra. Honestly, it can be pronounced either way.
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As a side note, I am Irish, this is my name, and I pronounce it TARE-ah. In my time in Ireland, no one corrected me on the pronunciation or called me tah-ra. Honestly, it can be pronounced either way.
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The name is also used in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland.
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Terra in Latin or Tierra in Spanish is the equivalent for the English word Earth.
I live in Australia, and I came into contact with ancient Aboriginal languages that use the word Yarra, which means water, and there is even a river flowing through Melbourne having that name. Since Aboriginal people had migrated to Australia, some 60,000 years ago, long before the Greeks came from India and settled in Europe in two waves, some 7,000 and 5,000 years ago, I believe the word Terra or Tierra come from Tyarra, which means a place with flowing water. This name can be applied to a region or to the whole planet.
It is no coincidence that similar names were retained in the ancient Assyrian language.
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I live in Australia, and I came into contact with ancient Aboriginal languages that use the word Yarra, which means water, and there is even a river flowing through Melbourne having that name. Since Aboriginal people had migrated to Australia, some 60,000 years ago, long before the Greeks came from India and settled in Europe in two waves, some 7,000 and 5,000 years ago, I believe the word Terra or Tierra come from Tyarra, which means a place with flowing water. This name can be applied to a region or to the whole planet.
It is no coincidence that similar names were retained in the ancient Assyrian language.
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One of my absolute favourite names, when pronounced Tar-ah. The American way of pronouncing it is Tair-uh which I am not so keen on. One day I would like to have a daughter named Tara, it's such a pretty name.
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I love the name Tara so much! It sounds so cute! ^-^
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My name is Tara which was originally supposed to be pronounced Tah-Ra but too many people found it too hard to say, me being among one of them so I decided to change the pronunciation to Tare-ah. I guess some people think if I wanted it to be pronounced that way I should have spelt it "Terra" but me personally I like how "Tara" looks better and it's honestly a great name:))
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My name is Tara pronounced terra but the spelling terra is ugly! Tara Sara Lara Cara all rhyme.
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I love the name Tara and have named my new 10 year old red eared slider Tara Fan. I pronounce it Terra Fan. It wouldn't even occur to me to pronounce it TARa. But I agree with another poster that there are more than one way to say some names, like this one, and just accept that. I named her after her species name which is red-eared terrapin.
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I like this name because my Cabbage Patch Doll came with this name. (Yes, I know, I am totally dating myself!) When I was 4 the neighbor who was 7 had this name. My aunt who is MUCH older than me, uses this name as part of her email address because she is a huge "Gone With The Wind" fan. Sometimes I think of actress Tara Reid, which is kind of not as great a connection... I guess it just goes to show you it's all about perspective. BTW, I always pronounced it "TAR-uh"
There was a girl in high school who was "TAIR-uh" and she had an "H" at the end of the name.
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There was a girl in high school who was "TAIR-uh" and she had an "H" at the end of the name.
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My name is Tara and I love my name. I am a successful business woman and I feel as though the name Tara is sexy. I have never met an unattractive Tara.
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Oh please, I can't believe folks are SO insistent on the correct way to pronounce Tara. Most of us named Tara understand the Irish origins and that it's pronounced TAR-ruh. Got it. However, there was that widely popular flick in 1939 that pronounced the name Tear-a, like tear a sheet of paper. Since that time, Tear-a has been a widely accepted pronunciation. TAR-ruh AND Tear-a are BOTH acceptable. When people ask I tell them "It's spelled like it should be pronounced TAR-ruh, but it's pronounced Tear-a like from GWTW." ;) Clearly most of this panel is from a Yankee state, out west or another country. If you're anywhere down south, there isn't even a question as to how it's pronounced. Lol, I've been in Chicago a few years where everyone pronounces it TAR-ruh, but I don't correct them. I never correct anyone, nor am I upset when they use the more formerly used pronunciation. It makes me laugh to read it's upsetting to people.
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Also a Serbian name after the Tara mountain in Serbia.
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I know someone named this and they pronounce it TER-uh.
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Not just for girls, Tara Browne was the son of a member of the House of Lords and the heir to the Guinness fortune who sadly died whilst speeding through South Kensington.
His death inspired the John Lennon section of A Day in the Life.
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His death inspired the John Lennon section of A Day in the Life.
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It's a nice name, but unfortunately I associate it with the trashy Tara Reid.
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English pronunciation is "TAH-ra". American pronunciation of this name is horrible.
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My mother chose Tara from "Gone With the Wind" and then changed it a bit to Taryn (which she had never heard of). Later she heard of Tyrone Power's daughter but I think Taryn for me comes more from the meaning of Tara. I really like the name now but as a child not knowing anyone with this name I didn't think much of my mother's "made-up" name.
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It is a incredibly ordinary, bland name. "Tara," "K/Cara," "Sara"... I fail to see any appeal. Simple is, at times, fantastic-- though not in this case.
My mind's eye is unable to correspond it to a successful business woman. It is just a very infantile, unprofessional, and disgustingly common name (there certainly are lovely people who bear it, regardless). I can easily see Miss Big Sister (four years old) awaiting the arrival of a baby sister and eagerly wishing to dub the poor thing "Tara."
Has it occurred to you that the likelihood of "Tara" being converted into a tease of "Tarantula/TARAntula" is alarmingly high?
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My mind's eye is unable to correspond it to a successful business woman. It is just a very infantile, unprofessional, and disgustingly common name (there certainly are lovely people who bear it, regardless). I can easily see Miss Big Sister (four years old) awaiting the arrival of a baby sister and eagerly wishing to dub the poor thing "Tara."
Has it occurred to you that the likelihood of "Tara" being converted into a tease of "Tarantula/TARAntula" is alarmingly high?
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Tara means country in Romanian.
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Also used in Croatia.
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I use this name as a short form of Atarah, the name of my "fursona" (the animal form of my artist's persona). It's short, simple, and pretty, and it rolls off the tongue nicely. I like the fact that its meaning can be related to the meaning of Atarah; "crowned." In America, it's common for people to pronounce this name TARE-ah, but I for one prefer the original pronunciation.
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What those who are complaining about the pronunciation of this name as "Terra" are overlooking is that there is considerable variation of the pronunciation of vowels in various accents of English (as in any language that is spoken over a large enough area). In the U.S., for example, some pronounce the words "merry," "marry" and "Mary" alike; others, differently. People who do not make the distinction might have a different idea of exactly which sound they use than those who do. (I hope that's clear.)
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Pronounced Tara (Tar-a) After reading all of these posts I must give some facts. The origin of the Tara is Irish. Tara (Tar-a) was a tower in a village near Dublin, Ireland. Irish people use hard vowels, so Tar-a is correct to the land.
Gone with the Wind came along in the 30's and Scarlet with her fake southern accent mixed with her native English accent, came out Terra. From that point on everyone took that mis-pronunciation as correct, but it is NOT!
If you are named after the movie then of course saying Terra would be correct. But the name is Irish and please accept that as fact!
I have had many friends visit Ireland and have brought me books back from the Tower of Tara. I understand they will correct you over there if you say Terra (even they don't like what Gone with the Wind has done to such a beautiful name).
Side note: Does anyone spell Terra Cotta as Tara Cotta? No!
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Gone with the Wind came along in the 30's and Scarlet with her fake southern accent mixed with her native English accent, came out Terra. From that point on everyone took that mis-pronunciation as correct, but it is NOT!
If you are named after the movie then of course saying Terra would be correct. But the name is Irish and please accept that as fact!
I have had many friends visit Ireland and have brought me books back from the Tower of Tara. I understand they will correct you over there if you say Terra (even they don't like what Gone with the Wind has done to such a beautiful name).
Side note: Does anyone spell Terra Cotta as Tara Cotta? No!
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I pronounced it TAR-uh. If you are gonna pronounce it TER-uh then spell it Tera because Like Kara I don't say KER-UH I say Kar-Uh. Its pretty and like Sara I say SAR-uh not SER-uh. I like Tara a lot.
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Also a Maori word relating to the vagina.
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This name is also German (I knew several girls from Germany with this name.) To BellaTara, the words terrible and terror come from the Latin perterritus, which means frightened.
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Sorry but what comes to mind is ta ra ra ... boom de ay! ta ra ra ... boom de ay! LOL
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I don't like this name because it spells 'a rat' backwards.
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The name itself is actually really cool, but I've gotten the impression that it's not the name of particularly intelligent girls and women. Tara Reid is probably to blame, but this is also the real name of Carmen Electra, and while she is nice enough, she doesn't strike me as a particularly witty person. I have even thought this name sounds like that of a porn star, but my impressions have gotten toned down after realizing that the name is not an American invention anyway.
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Tara Markov, better known as "Terra" was a DC Comics superhero/supervillain from the pages of Teen Titans. "Terra" is a play on her own name influenced by her superpower, terrakinesis.
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Tara Maclay is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Amber Benson.
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I like it for the Gone With the Wind association but I dislike that it is teased with "Tara new one" as in "Tear a new one."
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Tara is also a girls name in Slovenia; in the top 100 in 2005-2006.
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My name is Tara pronounced like Terra. Although I understand why, it's always bothered me that people would pronounce it Tahr-a. Nobody would ever pronounce Sara as Sahr-a! Tahr-a sounds too much like retarded for me.
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I've heard Irish folk-legends that Tara is the home of fairies or where fairies originated.
On a side note, I am American and I pronounce it tah-ruh. I do have cousins in Virginia though who pronounce it tair-uh, but I don't think that is a pronunciation lapse, just a southern accent.
I think Tara has a good meaning, but I'm not crazy over the way it sounds.
1
On a side note, I am American and I pronounce it tah-ruh. I do have cousins in Virginia though who pronounce it tair-uh, but I don't think that is a pronunciation lapse, just a southern accent.
I think Tara has a good meaning, but I'm not crazy over the way it sounds.
1
Tara Strong, a famous voice artist (Teen Titans, Fairly OddParents, Kim Possible, TMNT, I can go on for hours), is a famous bearer of this name.
Her website is www.theofficialtarastrong.com.
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Her website is www.theofficialtarastrong.com.
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Tah-ruh/tah-rah. That's how it was always pronounced for me. But sometimes a real Irish person will pronounce it tore-rah/ta[long a]-raaa.
This name is nice, it's my name and I always thought it looked funny with an h at the end. Although in my junior and senior year of high school I started adding the h to it, since you can't really have a nickname with this name. My name is Tara Lynn and it flows nicely. Very popular combination. I am Irish. It also means tower, hill, and other things from looking it up over the years.
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This name is nice, it's my name and I always thought it looked funny with an h at the end. Although in my junior and senior year of high school I started adding the h to it, since you can't really have a nickname with this name. My name is Tara Lynn and it flows nicely. Very popular combination. I am Irish. It also means tower, hill, and other things from looking it up over the years.
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I hate Tara said TERRA or Te-ra it should be said TAR-a or Tah-ra. Pronunciations get very twisted.
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I understand this is the anglicized spelling of the Gaelic word, but still, I don't believe the usage of the name is English. The name "Tara" is still an Irish name, not English, because it's still an Irish place that the name comes from. This is my middle name, and I don't think of it as an English name, just as I wouldn't the name Erin, or Shannon. Even if the spelling isn't Irish Gaelic, I do believe the name still is, or at least is shared with the English usage.
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Tara appeared on the top 1000 list in the 1950's. Its most popular year was the 1970's where it ranked 43.
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Tara Fitzgerald is a famous British actress (Brassed Off, The Englishman who Went up a Hill, but Came down a Mountain).
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This is a very pretty name, I pronounce it TER-a.
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American model, actress and singer Carmen Electra was born Tara Leigh Patrick.
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The name Tara can actually be originated from Terra, which in Latin means Earth. I am not quite sure how Terrible and Terror came into the midst of such a beautiful name!
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Terra meaning earth in Latin and the Gaelic Tara are completely different names, and often pronounced differently.
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This name is not even remotely derived from the Latin word "terra" - it existed in Sanskrit long before Latin was even thought of. It is correctly pronounced Tah-rah by everyone in the world, except for some Americans who have heard it mis-pronounced in the movie "Gone with the Wind".
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Two famous bearers of this name are actress Tara Reid (American Pie) and champion figure skater Tara Lipinski.
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