Where does “Nara” come from?

Nara comes from Old Japanese なら, of unknown ultimate origin.

Ancestry of “Nara”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese奈良Nara city; Nara
2Old Japaneseなら—
Every word from Old Japanese なら →Every word from Japanese 奈良 →
Nara — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer