The Kara surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,308 people carried this name — #20,322 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 227,300 people counted. That is up 22% from 1,069 in 2000.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 1,111 people named Kara live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
887 people named Kara live in Switzerland.
They live in 20 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Poland’s population register
582 people named Kara have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 1,047 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 379 people named Kara.
Most of them — 256 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 32 départements, most often Seine-Saint-Denis.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 38 people named Kara live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
955 people named Kara are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Kara in American newspapers,
1858–1924.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 205,892 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Kara,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Avigdor Kara 1350–1439 · poet -
James Carroll 1857–1926 · politician -
Lauri Kara 1892–1919 · electrician -
Stanisław Kara 1893–1955 · military officer -
Helena Kara 1916–2002 · actor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 154 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Kara.
- Kappes 1,624 · U.S. census
- Kappler 1,409 · U.S. census
- Kapps 175 · U.S. census
- Kaprielian 274 · U.S. census
- Kaps 408 · U.S. census
- Kapusta 913 · U.S. census
- Karam 3,401 · U.S. census
- Karapetyan 1,260 · U.S. census
- Karas 5,858 · U.S. census
- Karch 1,506 · U.S. census
- Karcher 3,746 · U.S. census
- Karcz 644 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Kara is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.