Tara is an Irish name meaning hill or rocky outcrop, from the Old Irish teamhair, the name of the Hill of Tara in County Meath, ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland. It reached its American peak in 1972 and has spent fifty years as a steady, recognized presence. With 175,490 total SSA records, it's one of the most-given Irish-origin names in American history.
The Hill of Tara and Irish Mythology
The Hill of Tara (Teamhair na Rí, Hill of the Kings) is one of Ireland's most sacred ancient sites, a ceremonial and political center where the High Kings of Ireland were inaugurated from prehistory through the early medieval period. The name carried into American culture primarily through Gone with the Wind (1936), in which Scarlett O'Hara's Georgia plantation is named Tara, presumably by an Irish immigrant family honoring the ancestral homeland. That double association — Irish mythology and Southern plantation drama — gave the name a distinctly American character. Among Irish-origin names, Tara has one of the richest American cultural histories.
The 1972 Peak and the Long Plateau
Tara peaked in 1972, at the tail end of the Irish-American cultural pride wave that also lifted Brian, Bridget, and Patrick. Like those names, it has gradually declined from its peak but maintains real usage. A name with 175,490 total SSA records has been genuinely given across multiple generations. Today's Tara is either a parent-generation name being rediscovered or a deliberate vintage choice. Compare Tara and Kara for two -ara names of the same era with different origin stories. See 1970s names for the full context.
Counter-Reading: The Scarlett Shadow
The Gone with the Wind association is embedded in Tara's American cultural identity, and that novel and film carry complicated historical weight. For most families, the Irish mythological meaning is primary and the plantation association is background noise. But the connection exists and is worth knowing for families who care about cultural symbolism in naming. Browse names ending in -a for Irish alternatives.