♀ Name Mara – beautiful

Origin:	biblical, Hebrew, Russian, Slavic, Gaelic, Maltese, Nigerian, Syrian
Meaning:	bitter, woman, sea, beautiful
Girl namesGirl names with MNamesNames with MShort girl namesShort names

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Mara is a biblical name of Hebrew origin. It is also used as a short form of several other names and has additional meanings in Gaelic, Maltese, Nigerian, and Syrian.

Where does the name Mara come from?

Mara is a biblical name of Hebrew origin. In the Old Testament, Noomi calls herself Mara after her return from Moab. Mara is also a short form of Maralda (in Russian), Maria (in Slavic), or of the names Marina and Tamara. Besides, Mara is of Gaelic, Maltese, Nigerian, and Syrian origin.

What does the name Mara mean?

There are several meanings of the name Mara. Mara means “bitter” in Hebrew. In Syrian and Maltese, Mara means “woman,” in Gaelic, “sea,” and in Nigerian (Igbo), “beautiful.” The meanings of the names Maralda, Maria, Marina, and Tamara can be found on the respective pages.

Word composition

• Hebrew “mar” (מַר) = bitter

Other variants

Mara can also be spelled Maara or Marah. However, Mara is most commonly used. A male variant is Maro. An anagram of Mara is Amar.

Nicknames

Popular nicknames for Mara are Mari, Madi, Mali, Mala, or Ma.

Famous people named Mara

• Former child actress Mara Elizabeth Wilson (born 1987) is especially known for her role as Matilda in the 1996 movie Matilda.
• American news correspondent Mara Schiavocampo (born 1979) has worked for NBC, MSNBC, NBC News, and ABC News.
• American designer Mara Hoffman built a fashion label named after herself after graduating from Parsons School of Design in 2000.
• Mara Liasson (born 1955) is an American political analyst and journalist. She works for the Fox News Channel.

Fictional characters named Mara

• In the Star Wars franchise, Mara Jade Skywalker is the wife of Luke Skywalker and mother of Ben Skywalker. She appears in multiple Star Wars games.
• In the computer games Destiny and Destiny 2: Forsaken, Mara Sov is the queen of the Awoken in the Reef.
• Mara Jaffray is a main character on the TV show House of Anubis, played by actress Tasie Dhanraj (born 1990).
• The novel Mara: Daughter of the Nile by Eloise McGraw (1915–2000) follows the story of the Egyptian girl Mara.
• In the novel and movie Spontaneous, written by Aaron Starmer (born 1976), Mara Carlyle, played by Katherine Langford, is a protagonist. The story follows a group of high school seniors who spontaneously explode.

Pronunciation of Mara

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Last updated: 4/3/2026