Lara

/ˈlɑː.ɹə/

//ˈlɑː.ɹə// name

"lara" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Lara” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,155. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,155
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia

Corpus desk

Index EN-lara · Lara · English

Lara · rank #14,155 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,155
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kylie

Nearest frequency peer: Kylie (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Lara”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Lara” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Lara vs LR
25% similar
Lara vs law
25% similar
Lara vs lay
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Lara
PropertyValue
HeadwordLara
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈlɑː.ɹə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#14,155
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Lara”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Laralands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Kylie” (#14,153), “lax” (#14,157), “kettle” (#14,152). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “Lara” is #14,155. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around Lara (IPA /ˈlɑː.ɹə/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #14,155 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Lara, with forms such as "alra", "laar", and "larra". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "LR", "law", "lay", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Anglicized from Russian Ла́ра (Lára), a Russian pet form of Larissa, known from the novel (1957) and film (1965) Dr Zhivago. The correct English form is Lara, spelled L-A-R-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia
  2. 2
    A female given name from Russian or Ukrainian.
  3. 3
    A surname.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Lara appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Long after the divorce, Moran maintained the habit of giving her name as Lara to the Starbucks baristas. She had once met another Lara at Logan airport, both of them waiting for their coffees, both stepping forward when summoned. The other Lara said her parents had gone through a period of thinking that everything Russian was holy,and had named her Lariss…
  2. "If we live in a country where so many people could elect Donald Trump, then that's not a country I want to live in," 17-year-old Lara Godoff told the Associated Press.

Etymology

Anglicized from Russian Ла́ра (Lára), a Russian pet form of Larissa, known from the novel (1957) and film (1965) Dr Zhivago.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alra
  • laar
  • larra
  • llara
  • lraa

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Lara - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

alra2laar2larra1llara1lraa2
Edit distance from "Lara"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Lara"?
"Lara" is spelled L-A-R-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɑː.ɹə/.
What does "Lara" mean?
As a proper noun, "Lara" means: A suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia
What words are commonly confused with "Lara"?
"Lara" is commonly confused with "LR", "law", "lay". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Lara"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Lara" is /ˈlɑː.ɹə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Lara"?
Anglicized from Russian Ла́ра (Lára), a Russian pet form of Larissa, known from the novel (1957) and film (1965) Dr Zhivago. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Lara", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list