Fun Facts About the Name Diara
- 800 babies named Diara: U.S. records list 800 babies given the name Diara from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Diara Mean?
Diara is chiefly a West African name, used both as a family name and as a personal name, and it is most often treated as a variant spelling of Diarra. In the Manding languages spoken in Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and the Gambia, the name is traditionally explained as "lion," from a Manding word for that animal that French-based spelling writes as Di- and English-based spelling in the Gambia writes as Jarra. This meaning is a traditional interpretation rather than a confirmed etymology: no early written source records the derivation, so the safest description of the meaning is that it is uncertain, with "lion" preserved by custom in Manding-speaking communities.
Diara Name History & Origins
The name belongs to the Manding-speaking belt of West Africa, the wider region of the medieval Mali Empire, where it is still found today as both a surname and a given name. Its spellings divide along colonial language lines: French-speaking Mali, Guinea, and Senegal write Diarra or Diara, while English-speaking Gambia uses Jarra. Manding families carried the name with them through migration within the region and later to France and the Americas, and Diara now also appears as a feminine given name in the United States and elsewhere in the diaspora. Because family names of this kind were not preserved in written form during the medieval Mali period, the name's earlier history depends mainly on oral tradition and on these later spelling variants rather than on dated documents.
How Popular is the Name Diara?
Diara has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2024. Its best rank was #2,691 in 2024.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,908 | 27 | 0.0017% |
| 2024 | #2,691 | 64 | 0.0040% |
| 2023 | #8,164 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2022 | #6,788 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2021 | #7,354 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2020 | #6,400 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2019 | #8,723 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #8,750 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2017 | #7,181 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2016 | #13,283 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #11,143 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #9,720 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2013 | #7,865 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2012 | #9,901 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #7,203 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2010 | #9,960 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #5,946 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2008 | #4,478 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 2007 | #4,498 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2006 | #4,285 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 2005 | #4,401 | 31 | 0.0017% |
| 2004 | #6,870 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2003 | #6,384 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2002 | #7,540 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2001 | #5,239 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2000 | #6,904 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1999 | #6,928 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1998 | #4,272 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 1997 | #3,926 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1996 | #4,638 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 1995 | #4,385 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1994 | #4,154 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1993 | #5,045 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1992 | #4,413 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1991 | #4,850 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1990 | #8,677 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1989 | #6,257 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1988 | #7,271 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1987 | #9,032 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1986 | #11,406 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #6,143 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #10,842 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #5,919 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1982 | #10,921 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #7,583 | 8 | 0.0005% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Diara Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are strong in material matters, determined and stubborn. You have good business ability. You are a good worker, steady and practical, a builder who takes responsibility well. These qualities may bring you a position of authority and power. You are a doer, down-to-earth, serious-minded, reliable, and self-disciplined; have good power of concentration. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Diara's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Diara's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.