Her Name means "star", and she is said to have been born from the water, like Aphrodite. Thus her iconography may be related to that of Mary, who is called Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) and foam-born Venus/Aphrodite who is represented by the Morning/Evening Star, Venus.
Edit: Oops, forgot the link: http://www.mother-god.com/goddess-tara.html