Dara

Dara
Gender	both
Origin
Word/name	various
Meaning	various
Other names
Related names	Darius, Dora, Bojidar, Bozhidar, Bojidara

Last updated September 20, 2025

Dara are several given names used for both men and women in different languages.

Etymology

Dara are several different homonymous names with different etymological origins.

In Hebrew, Dara means "compassion" or "pearl of wisdom".^{[ citation needed ]}
In Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia, Dara means "gift", or "to give a gift", its meaning directly derives from dar "gift".
In Ibibio, Dara is a derivative of "joy", and it means "rejoice".
In Indonesian, Dara is a feminine given name meaning "girl", "young woman", or "virgin".
Oluwadara is a Yoruba name given to a male or female child meaning [God's Good].'Oluwa' means *GOD* and 'Dara' means *Is Good*.
Dara is an anglicisation of the Irish language given name Dáire, which is likely derived from doire "oak wood".^{[ citation needed ]} Despite traditionally being masculine, it is sometimes used as a unisex name. Alternative spellings include Daire or Darragh. It also occurs as a surname, possibly a version of the surname Mac Dubhdara.
In Javanese, Dara means "dove" or "pigeon".
Because of the tone mark in Yoruba, Dara is also a short form of Oluwashindara, which means "wonder (God still does wonder)".
In Gokana, "Dara" mean to "carry".
In Kazakh, Dara is a feminine given name meaning "special, one of a kind".
In Khmer, Thai, and Lao, Dara is a unisex name meaning "star".
In Persian, and Parsi communities, Dara (Persian : دارا) is a variant of the masculine given name Darius.^[1]^[2] In contemporary Persian, it means "rich", "well-off" and "well-to-do".
In Punjabi, Dara means "leader".
In Swahili, Dara means "the beautiful one".
The word "Odara" derives from the Brazilian indigenous Ioruba word dara, meaning "gorgeous."
In Urdu, Dara is a masculine given name meaning "possessor" or "sovereign" and "halo (of the moon)".^[3] It can also mean "sovereign" or "lord", a meaning shared with the Sikh language.^[4] In Urdu, Dara is a short form of Darius.
In African-American culture, the name Dara is of Bermudian origin, also meaning "beautiful".^[5]

People

Dara, (born Sandara Park, 1984), South Korean singer, actress and TV presenter, member of K-pop girl group 2NE1
Dara Alizadeh (born 1993), Bermudian and American rower who represents Bermuda
Dara Bashir (born 1960), Pakistani former first-class cricketer
Dara Birnbaum (1946–2025), American video and installation artist
Dara Brown (born 1964/1965), news anchor and senior producer for MSNBC.com
Dara Bubamara, Serbian singer
Dara Calleary, Irish politician
Dara Dotiwalla (1933–2019), Indian cricket umpire
Dara Fitzpatrick, Irish helicopter pilot
Dara Gallagher, Irish Gaelic footballer
Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, American magazine feature writer
Dara Hayes, birth name of the Australian DJ Tigerlily
Dara Horn, American novelist
Dara Howell (born 1994), Canadian freestyle skier
Dara Huang (born 1982/1983), British-American architect
Dara Jingga, one of the Malay Dharmasraya princess who was intended to be betrothed to Javanese King Kertanegara of Singasari
Dara Khosrowshahi, Iranian-American businessman, CEO of Uber
Dara Kovačević (born 1983), former Serbian basketball player
Dara Maclean (born 1986), American contemporary Christian singer and songwriter
Dara Mohammed (born 1987), Iraqi football player of Kurdish ethnicity
Dara Murphy, Irish politician
Dara Nusserwanji Khurody (1906–1983), Indian dairy entrepreneur
Darashaw Nosherwan Wadia (1883–1969), Indian geologist
Dara Ó Briain, Irish comedian and TV presenter
Dara Ó Cinnéide (born 1975), Irish former Gaelic footballer
Dara Ó Conaola (born 1945), Irish writer
Dara O'Shea, Irish Association Football player
Dara Rasmi, princess of Chiang Mai
Dara Reneé, American actress
Dara Rolins, Slovak recording artist
Dara Shikoh, Indian prince
Dara Singh, Indian professional wrestler
Dara Singh (Bajrang Dal), serial killer
Dara Strolovitch, American political scientist
Dara Torre, American politician
Dara Torres, American swimmer
Dara Tucker, American singer, songwriter, social commentator and satirist
Dara (Bulgarian singer), a Bulgarian singer
Dara (דרע) is a personage in 1 Chronicles 2:6, a descendant of Judah, son of Jacob.

Fictional characters

Sumerian God Enki was also known as "Dara-Mah" ^[6]
Dara is a young elf from The Witcher (TV series).
Dara is a Romani person from the Brazilian novel Explode Coração
Dara is an elder from Caer Pelyn village from Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones
Dara Shirazi, the protagonist of the book The Electric Heir.

References

↑ "Darius (Encyclopædia Iranica)".
↑ Gandhi, Maneka; Husain, Ozair (2004). The Complete Book of Muslim and ParsiNames. ISBN 9780143031840.
↑ "Islamic Name Dara Meanings in Urdu - Muslim Boy Names". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
↑ "Meaning of Sikh Boy Name Dara". Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
↑ "Names - Meaning of Dara".
↑ Forest, Danu (8 October 2014). Celtic Tree Magic. ISBN 9780738744063.

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[1] "Darius (Encyclopædia Iranica)".

[2] Gandhi, Maneka; Husain, Ozair (2004). The Complete Book of Muslim and ParsiNames. ISBN 9780143031840.

[3] "Islamic Name Dara Meanings in Urdu - Muslim Boy Names". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.

[4] "Meaning of Sikh Boy Name Dara". Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2016-01-08.

[5] "Names - Meaning of Dara".

[6] Forest, Danu (8 October 2014). Celtic Tree Magic. ISBN 9780738744063.

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Dara

Contents

Etymology

People

Fictional characters

See also

References