Ara 아라

Ara name meaning: “pretty + net” (娥羅)

Ara is a Korean given name, most often given to girls. In hangul it is written 아라. Like most Korean names it can also be written in hanja, and the characters chosen decide what it means — the same sound can be written 1,008 different ways.

About the name Ara

The name Ara (아라) is composed of two syllables, 'A' (아) and 'ra' (라). It is also sometimes spelled A-ra, with a hyphen indicating the syllable division. The first syllable, 아, draws from the sound element earth and can be represented by hanja such as 娥, meaning 'pretty', 我, meaning 'I, me', or 雅, meaning 'clear, correct'. The second syllable, 라, is associated with the sound element fire. While many hanja are available, one option is 羅, which means 'net'.

When combined, these hanja offer different impressions for the name. For example, a spelling like 娥羅 could evoke a sense of delicate beauty, while 雅羅 might suggest clarity or correctness. The name Ara is mostly given to girls. Because the meaning is fixed by the hanja chosen, selecting characters with positive connotations is key to defining the name's tone.

Other spellings

The same name is romanized in several ways: Ara, A-ra. They are all 아라.

How to pronounce Ara

아라
Voice:

Say it as ah-rah (2 syllables). Korean doesn't stress one syllable the way English does, so give each beat roughly the same weight rather than saying AH-rah.

  • Korean "r" at the start of a syllable is a light tap of the tongue, between an English r and l, like the "tt" in American "butter".

The recording is a synthesized standard Seoul voice; the respelling above is an English approximation of it. More on the rules: how to pronounce Korean names. To hear more spoken Korean, try Korean greetings with audio.

Five Elements (Ohaeng)

In Korean naming tradition each syllable carries an element, decided by the consonant it starts with. This is what a name sounds like in terms of energy.

  • 아 (starts with ㅇ)→Earthsteadiness, trust, holding things together
  • 라 (starts with ㄹ)→Firebrightness, passion, visibility

Hanja used for Ara

These are hanja characters legally registrable for each syllable, with their dictionary meanings. A parent picks one character per syllable, and that combination becomes the written meaning of the name.

아42 characters can be used

  • 娥pretty예쁠 아
  • 我I, me나 아
  • 雅clear, correct맑을 아/바를 아
  • 兒child아이 아
  • 亞second, next버금 아
  • 阿hill언덕 아
  • 妸beautiful아름다울 아
  • 牙molar, government office어금니 아/관아 아

라24 characters can be used

  • 羅net그물 라(나)
  • 蓏fruit열매 라(나)
  • 懶lazy게으를 라(나)
  • 摞tie, bind맬 라(나)
  • 蘿mugwort쑥 라(나)
  • 螺conch, snail소라 라(나)
  • 裸naked, bare벗을 라(나)
  • 儸capable, clever간능 있을 라(나)

Ara name FAQ

What does Ara mean in Korean?
A popular way to write Ara (아라) is 娥 (pretty) + 羅 (net), giving the meaning "pretty + net". The meaning depends on the hanja the parents choose — 아라 can be written 1,008 different ways.
Is Ara a Korean name?
Yes. Ara is a Korean given name written 아라 in hangul, mostly given to girls.
How do you write Ara in Korean?
In hangul it is 아라; a common hanja spelling is 娥羅. It is also romanized as A-ra.
What element is the name Ara?
By its sounds, Ara carries Earth + Fire in the Five Elements (Ohaeng) of Korean naming.

Names sharing a syllable

Ara belongs to someone else. Yours is drawn from your own birth chart — the four pillars of your birth date and hour decide which elements your name should carry.

Find your Korean name