Gender: Feminine
Origin: Various
Eng (TAH-rah; TARE-uh)
The name can be of several different origins and meanings depending on the bearer of the name. It could be from the Sanskrit and Hindi तारा meaning, “star.”
In Hinduisim, Tara (Devi), a Mahavidya of Mahadevi, Kali or Parvati is a star goddess, she is considered one of the Great Wisdom goddesses.
In Buddhism, Tara is the name of a tantric meditation goddess.
In the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, it is the name of the wife of the monkey king, Vali, who married the king’s brother, Sugriva, after Vali’s death.
Among the Irish Diaspora, the name was usually used in reference to the sacred hill, Tara, where the high kings were usually coronated. In this case, the name is an anglicized form of the Gaelic, Teamhair, meaning, “elevated place.”
It may have been further popularized in the English-speaking world by the 1936 Margaret Mitchell novel, Gone with the Wind, in which the plantation is called Tara, in honour of the hill in Ireland.
In South Slavic languages, it could either be a contracted form of Tamara, or it could be taken from the name of the river which runs through Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also the name of a river in Russia.
As of 2009, Tara was the 30th most popular female name in Croatia. Her popularity in other countries are as follows:
- # 50 (Slovenia, 2010)
- # 62 (Ireland, 2010)
- # 77 (Northern Ireland, 2010)
- # 126 (Netherlands, 2010)
- # 774 (United States, 2010)
It is also the name of a sea goddess in Polynesian Mythology.
Gender: Masculine
The name remained common throughout Europe, and is fairly popular across the Western World till this day. It was borne by several saints and popes, including the first and only English pope, Adrian IV, as well as the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI.
Gender: Female
Gender: Feminine
Gender: Feminine
Gender: Feminine
Shortly after the adoption of the French Republic in 1792, Marianne was a female figure used to personify the state.
Gender: Feminine