Meaning & Origin
A suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Lara is a girl's and boy's baby name of Latin origin, possibly from the Roman Lar (a household god) or a short form of Larissa, from the ancient Greek city of Larissa meaning 'citadel.' Boris Pasternak immortalized the name in his novel Doctor Zhivago (1957), where Lara Antipova is one of Russian literature's most romantic heroines.
With nearly 30,000 U.S. births, Lara has genuine staying power. Lara Croft — the iconic archaeologist-adventurer of the Tomb Raider franchise — gave it fierce, independent energy. Whether you associate it with Russian romanticism or video game heroism, Lara is a name of extraordinary depth in four letters.