| Cara | Francesca | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Beloved, dear | Free one |
| Origin | italian | Italian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | KAH-ruh | fran-CHES-kah |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1882 | 1895 |
| Peak year | 1985 (1,465) | 2025 (984) |
| In 2025 | 168 | 984 |
| Trend | Declining | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Cara | Francesca |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,273 | 5,015 |
| 2010s | 3,830 | 6,875 |
| 2000s | 6,034 | 7,019 |
| 1990s | 9,844 | 6,909 |
| 1980s | 13,277 | 4,095 |
| 1970s | 10,413 | 2,250 |
| 1960s | 5,779 | 1,380 |
| 1950s | 1,291 | 989 |
| 1940s | 492 | 297 |
| 1930s | 305 | 108 |
| 1920s | 281 | 171 |
| 1910s | 219 | 168 |
| 1900s | 113 | 42 |
| 1890s | 91 | 13 |
| 1880s | 63 | 0 |
From the Italian and Latin cara, feminine of caro/carus 'dear, beloved'. A direct term of endearment pressed into use as a given name.
Francesca means “free one” or “from France,” the feminine of Francesco.
Francesca is more popular than Cara today: about 984 US babies were given the name Francesca in 2025, compared with 168 named Cara.
Cara means Beloved, dear (italian origin), while Francesca means Free one (Italian origin).
In US records, Cara first appears in 1882 and Francesca in 1895, so Cara has the longer recorded history.