Girl's name
Clara
Say it KLAIR-uh
Latin origin bright, shining, clear
2 syllables
Where Clara is loved, common and rare
Loved in three German cities. Common across Canada, three other German cities, Spain and ten more places. Rare in France, Norway, Poland and one more place.
1 in 166 girls born in Northern Ireland in 2025
Munich 2ndQuebec 14thCatalonia 19th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 25 of the 40 official lists, among them Munich (2nd), Quebec (14th) and Catalonia (19th).
Show all 25 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munich city | 2nd 2025 | 79 | about 1 in 53 |
| Quebec province | 14th 2025 | 272 | about 1 in 96 |
| Catalonia region | 19th 2025 | 190 | 1 in 101 |
| Berlin city | 19th 2023 | 91 | about 1 in 159 |
| Cologne city | 21st 2023 | 33 | about 1 in 186 |
| Northern Ireland | 39th 2025 | 44 | 1 in 166 |
| Spain | 44th 2024 | 723 | rank only |
| Sweden | 44th 2025 | 204 | about 1 in 197 |
| Austria | 44th 2025 | 168 | 1 in 213 |
| Ontario province | 48th 2024 | 170 | about 1 in 320 |
| Italy | 72nd 2024 | 460 | 1 in 389 |
| Victoria state | 73rd 2025 | 86 | rank only |
| Ireland | 73rd 2025 | 70 | 1 in 302 |
| Switzerland | 75th 2025 | 93 | 1 in 366 |
| England and Wales | 77th 2025 | 610 | 1 in 415 |
| Scotland | 82nd 2025 | 51 | 1 in 351 |
| British Columbia province | 83rd 2023 | 33 | about 1 in 362 |
| France | 110th 2025 | 465 | 1 in 617 |
| Norway | 121st 2025 | 46 | 1 in 474 |
| Poland | 244th 2025 | 23 | 1 in 5,208 |
| The Netherlands | 428th 2025 | 30 | about 1 in 2,034 |
| Bonn city | 8th 2025 | 24 | about 1 in 126 |
| Leipzig city | 10th 2025 | 19 | about 1 in 138 |
| Denmark | 12th 2025 | 368 | rank only |
| Rostock city | 16th 2025 | 7 | about 1 in 141 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); NISRA (Northern Ireland); INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) (Spain); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Statistics Denmark (DST) (Denmark); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock). How we count, and every source
About the name
A learned borrowing of Latin clāra, 'bright, shining, clear', Clara was made famous by the 13th-century St Clare of Assisi. Clare and Claire are twin forms from the same source.
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Two syllables, KLAIR-uh, give it a clean, bright sound. Klara and Chiara are forms in other languages, and Clarissa, Clarice and Claribel are longer relatives.
Clara ranks high in Quebec, Denmark and Catalonia and is familiar in Northern Ireland and Ontario too. The French records place its peak in 2005, and today its trend is balanced, rising in about as many places as it is falling. It is a quiet classic with a clear meaning that reads well in many languages.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- KLAIR-uh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
bright, shining, clear
- Origin
- Latin
- Other spellings
- Claire
- Clarissa
- Klara
- Chiara
- Clare
- Clarinda
- Claribel
- Clarice
- Clarita
- Clarisa
- Maria Clara
- Klaartje
- Klaara
- Cläre
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin clāra, feminine of clārus (“bright, shining, clear”), a post-classical name made famous by the 13th century Saint Clara (Clare) of Assisi. Doublet of Clare and Claire.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 5 of 24 regions, falling in 6.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 88 | 87 | 89 | 91 | 90 | 94 | 93 | 90 | 84 | 77 |
| Scotland | 108 | 98 | 91 | 92 | 143 | 138 | 133 | 136 | 83 | 82 |
| Northern Ireland | 51 | 32 | 38 | 41 | 36 | 52 | 53 | 65 | 36 | 39 |
| Ireland | 65 | 73 | 74 | 59 | 60 | 67 | 82 | 67 | 65 | 73 |
| Ontario | 45 | 54 | 56 | 61 | 54 | 56 | 58 | 65 | 48 | |
| British Columbia | 55 | 59 | 54 | 72 | 63 | 61 | 52 | 83 | ||
| New South Wales | 84 | 92 | 87 | |||||||
| Victoria | 78 | 92 | 73 | |||||||
| Queensland | 97 | 91 | 98 | |||||||
| South Australia | 85 | 121 | 97 | 91 | 69 | |||||
| New Zealand | 96 | 99 | ||||||||
| Quebec | 25 | 20 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 14 |
| France | 30 | 35 | 43 | 49 | 56 | 60 | 70 | 83 | 90 | 110 |
| The Netherlands | 648 | 665 | 611 | 690 | 410 | 487 | 616 | 682 | 428 | |
| Austria | 43 | 48 | 44 | 40 | 45 | 44 | 41 | 49 | 53 | 44 |
| Switzerland | 59 | 40 | 63 | 54 | 53 | 66 | 54 | 46 | 65 | 75 |
| Berlin | 18 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 19 | ||
| Munich | 11 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 2 |
| Cologne | 18 | 16 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 21 | ||
| Bonn | 18 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Leipzig | 5 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
| Rostock | 46 | 11 | 19 | 11 | 28 | 30 | 21 | 16 | 49 | 16 |
| Norway | 222 | 158 | 149 | 145 | 131 | 155 | 140 | 147 | 126 | 121 |
| Sweden | 39 | 31 | 33 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 44 | 44 |
| Denmark | 7 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 12 |
| Spain | 42 | 43 | 45 | 46 | 46 | 47 | 44 | 45 | 44 | |
| Catalonia | 33 | 34 | 33 | 30 | 34 | 39 | 33 | 34 | 25 | 19 |
| Italy | 72 | 76 | 74 | 76 | 81 | 74 | 80 | 72 | 72 | |
| Poland | 244 | 238 | 234 | 242 | 245 | 296 | 328 | 265 | 261 | 244 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 77 | 610 | 240.8 |
| 2024 | 84 | 564 | 218.6 |
| 2023 | 90 | 527 | 205.4 |
| 2022 | 93 | 528 | 200.4 |
| 2021 | 94 | 574 | 209.5 |
| 2020 | 90 | 570 | 212.4 |
| 2019 | 91 | 586 | 209.2 |
| 2018 | 89 | 609 | 211.3 |
| 2017 | 87 | 614 | 205.3 |
| 2016 | 88 | 611 | 198.9 |
| 2015 | 91 | 605 | 196.5 |
| 2014 | 121 | 464 | 151.3 |
| 2013 | 139 | 381 | 123.5 |
| 2012 | 179 | 284 | 88.2 |
| 2011 | 212 | 236 | 73.4 |
| 2010 | 201 | 256 | 79.7 |
| 2009 | 239 | 200 | 63.8 |
| 2008 | 233 | 213 | 67.5 |
| 2007 | 242 | 211 | 68.9 |
| 2006 | 286 | 162 | 54.1 |
| 2005 | 289 | 145 | 50.3 |
| 2004 | 268 | 157 | 54.9 |
| 2003 | 272 | 152 | 54.5 |
| 2002 | 310 | 116 | 43.4 |
| 2001 | 305 | 120 | 44.8 |
| 2000 | 342 | 98 | 35.9 |
| 1999 | 289 | 123 | 43.7 |
| 1998 | 320 | 112 | 38.7 |
| 1997 | 319 | 110 | 37.5 |
| 1996 | 327 | 107 | 36.1 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Clara in France since 1925 were born in or after 2005. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 2005, at 1,622.2 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Clara per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 2005 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Clara
1 in 228 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Clara.
1 in 95 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Clara.
1 in 728 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Clara.
1 in 729 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Clara.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Clara.
1 in 754 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Clara.
1 in 251 in Northern Ireland
1 in 3,018 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Clara.
1 in 852 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Clara.
1 in 271 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Clara.
Middle names for Clara
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Clara Grace
2-1 beats · initials CG
Changes the beat after Clara: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Clara Olivia
2-4 beats · initials CO · Clara slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Clara: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Clara slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Clara Sophia
2-3 beats · initials CS
Changes the beat after Clara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Clara Maria
2-3 beats · initials CM
Changes the beat after Clara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Clara Rose
2-1 beats · initials CR
Changes the beat after Clara: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Clara Emily
2-3 beats · initials CE · Clara slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Clara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Clara slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Clara Julia
2-3 beats · initials CJ
Changes the beat after Clara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Clara Miriam
2-3 beats · initials CM
Changes the beat after Clara: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Clara
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 729 in Northern Ireland
95% alike: moves with Clara across countries and decades.
1 in 197 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Clara across countries and decades.
1 in 1,193 in Scotland
94% alike: moves with Clara across countries and decades.
1 in 173 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Clara across countries and decades.
1 in 754 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Clara across countries and decades.
1 in 761 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Clara across countries and decades.
1 in 228 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Clara across countries and decades.
1 in 334 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Clara across countries and decades.
Famous people named Clara
Clara Zetkin, Clara Schumann, Clara Bow, Clara Petacci, Clara Barton, Clara Immerwahr, Clara Campoamor and Clara Rockmore.
Show all 8Show less
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Communist activist, and advocate for women's rights (1857–1933)
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German musician and composer (1819–1896)
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American actress (1905–1965)
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Mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1912–1948)
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American Civil War nurse (1821–1912)
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German chemist (1870-1915)
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Spanish politician, feminist (1888-1972)
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Russian-American musician (1911-1998)
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Clara
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Clara?
Her best rank is No. 12 in Denmark in 2025. She is in the published lists of 25 of our 40 regions.
What does Clara mean?
Wiktionary glosses Clara as "bright, shining, clear".
How do you pronounce Clara?
KLAIR-uh, with 2 syllables.
Is Clara getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 5 of 24 regions, falling in 6.
Which sister names go with Clara?
The deck's top five sisters for Clara: Eva, Anna, Stella, Victoria and Julia. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.