Given name & surname
Claire
Claire is a form of Clara. Clara is connected with the Latin idea of being famous, and is also interpreted through brightness.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Claire is a form of Clara. Clara is connected with the Latin idea of being famous, and is also interpreted through brightness.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Claire is a form of Clara. Clara is a post-classical Latin name used in English, Italian, and German.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In French use, Claire is used as a form of Clara. Claire is a form of Clara. The shared background comes through Clara: Clara uses the feminine form of Latin clarus. In English, it represents a return to the Latin form alongside the established spelling Clare.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Claire is a form of Clara. The history of Clara gives this family its wider story. Clara’s history includes English, Italian, and German use. In the Scottish Highlands, it also served as a translation equivalent of Sorcha.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Claire through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 214,123
- 2,204 boys · 211,919 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 5,216 babies
- 2025
- 3,487
- #68 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −23%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 3,487 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 68 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 23.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 5,216 in 2016. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (342). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 163,948 as a first name in 2020; 1,223 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Claire’s family of names
In French usage, Claire has a diminutive in CLAIRON. In French usage, Claire developed from the Latin form Clara. Claire has a related form in Clare.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Claire has relatives in 13 languages.
16 related names in 13 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Claravariant · French, Spanish
- Clarevariant · English
- Klairevariant · English
- Clairvariant · English
- Klairvariant · English
- Klarevariant · English
- Saint Clarevariant
- St Clairvariant · English
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Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- ChiaraItalian
- KlaraPolish, Swedish
- Clarieequivalent
- Clarionequivalent
- Klaaraequivalent
- Clarrieequivalent
- КлэрRussian
- ΚλαίρηGreek
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People named Claire
- Claire DanesAmerican actor (born 1979)
- Claire HoltAustralian actress (born 1988)
- Claire FoyBritish actress (born 1984)
- Claire TrevorAmerican actress (1910–2000)
- GrimesCanadian musician, singer, record producer and music video director (born 1988)
- Claire ForlaniBritish actressborn 1971
- Claire BloomBritish actress (born 1931)
- Claire DenisFrench film director (born 1946)
- Claire McCaskillAmerican politician (born 1953)
Characters named Claire: Claire Littleton (the American mystery fiction television series Lost), Claire Redfield (Resident Evil 2), Claire Underwood (House of Cards), Claire Temple (Marvel Comics).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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