girls' name ★ peaked 1918

Clara

Meaning bright, shining, clear Gender Girl Rank 2025 #63 Trend ↑ Rising 13%

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.

Rank 2025
#63
among girls · ↑15 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,601
named Clara · +17% vs 2024
How common
1 in 446
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1918
5,800 babies
All-time total
301,540
#129 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Clara popularity over time

301,540 babies have been named Clara since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
510152018801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 17,717 83 17,800 1,780 – #7
1890s 25,473 72 25,545 2,555 +44% #9
1900s 23,899 114 24,013 2,401 -6% #18
1910s 44,346 156 44,502 4,450 +85% #32
1920s 48,183 209 48,392 4,839 +9% #44
1930s 31,658 214 31,872 3,187 -34% #61
1940s 20,028 76 20,104 2,010 -37% #111
1950s 12,768 32 12,800 1,280 -36% #178
1960s 6,505 10 6,515 652 -49% #309
1970s 3,290 5 3,295 330 -49% #487
1980s 3,668 18 3,686 369 +12% #511
1990s 6,266 5 6,271 627 +70% #370
2000s 12,789 5 12,794 1,279 +104% #199
2010s 26,657 17 26,674 2,667 +108% #95
2020s (to 2025) 17,277 – 17,277 2,880 +8% #63

Where Clara is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 3,684 2.29 #63
2027 3,755 2.34 #61
2028 3,817 2.38 #60
2029 3,871 2.41 #59
2030 3,917 2.44 #58

Where Clara is most popular

Girls named Clara per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.80 per 1,000. Strongest in Vermont, South Dakota, and District of Columbia.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Clara born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Vermont 32 6.60 +267%
South Dakota 87 6.09 +239%
District of Columbia 69 5.82 +224%
Montana 74 5.47 +204%
Nebraska 190 5.29 +194%
North Dakota 69 5.25 +192%
Alaska 45 5.23 +191%
Maine 74 4.78 +166%
New Hampshire 86 4.66 +159%
Utah 357 4.29 +139%
Minnesota 455 4.22 +135%
Iowa 238 4.07 +127%
Wisconsin 398 3.86 +115%
Idaho 122 3.65 +103%
Kansas 203 3.52 +96%
Delaware 39 3.44 +91%
Massachusetts 414 3.42 +91%
Missouri 396 3.29 +83%
West Virginia 84 3.21 +78%
Wyoming 13 3.05 +70%
Oregon 194 2.98 +66%
Ohio 704 2.97 +65%
Rhode Island 37 2.96 +64%
Colorado 323 2.89 +61%
Washington 411 2.85 +58%
Indiana 387 2.76 +53%
Connecticut 160 2.75 +53%
Kentucky 229 2.68 +49%
Oklahoma 196 2.66 +48%
Michigan 484 2.66 +48%
Pennsylvania 624 2.64 +47%
Arkansas 137 2.59 +44%
Virginia 437 2.56 +43%
Tennessee 371 2.34 +30%
Alabama 219 2.33 +30%
North Carolina 492 2.16 +20%
Illinois 494 2.16 +20%
South Carolina 191 2.12 +18%
Maryland 216 2.04 +13%
Mississippi 90 1.92 +7%
Georgia 425 1.87 ≈ national
Louisiana 155 1.77 ≈ national
New York 684 1.73 ≈ national
Arizona 230 1.64 -9%
New Mexico 39 1.60 -11%
Texas 1,226 1.52 -15%
New Jersey 258 1.43 -20%
Florida 595 1.39 -23%
Nevada 64 1.38 -23%
Hawaii 14 1.22 -32%
California 1,021 1.21 -32%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Clara

Clara is a top-100 name for girls in the United States, ranked #63 in 2025 with 3,601 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 301,540 American babies have been named Clara. Its peak came in 1918, when 5,800 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Clara stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Clara?

The median living Clara is about 23 years old; half are between 9 and 72. An estimated 108 thousand people named Clara are alive in the United States today.

median 23 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Clara year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 3,601 #63 – –
2024 3,072 #78 – –
2023 2,662 #98 – –
2022 2,553 #110 – –
2021 2,693 #102 – –
2020 2,696 #103 – –
2019 2,951 #95 5 #12,522
2018 2,892 #103 – –
2017 3,045 #95 – –
2016 3,075 #100 5 #12,564
2015 3,070 #98 – –
2014 2,860 #108 – –
2013 2,508 #131 – –
2012 2,336 #136 – –
2011 2,078 #151 7 #9,814
2010 1,842 #167 – –
2009 1,650 #199 – –
2008 1,654 #204 – –
2007 1,555 #225 – –
2006 1,497 #231 5 #12,375
2005 1,332 #246 – –
2004 1,173 #282 – –
2003 1,060 #294 – –
2002 1,031 #303 – –
2001 958 #323 – –
2000 879 #353 – –
1995 662 #397 – –
1990 467 #515 5 #8,335
1985 357 #554 – –
1980 392 #511 7 #5,024
1975 337 #522 – –
1970 358 #530 – –
1965 569 #386 – –
1960 915 #309 – –
1955 1,300 #224 5 #3,968
1950 1,570 #178 6 #3,380
1945 1,800 #136 – –
1940 2,316 #111 11 #2,203
1935 3,067 #81 14 #1,946
1930 4,124 #64 32 #1,263
1925 4,776 #55 22 #1,638
1920 5,470 #44 16 #2,064
1915 5,285 #38 20 #1,568
1910 2,665 #32 13 #878
1905 2,397 #22 8 #940
1900 2,826 #19 12 #753
1895 2,613 #12 11 #645
1890 2,496 #9 – –
1885 1,910 #7 6 #850
1880 1,226 #12 8 #692

Famous people named Clara

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Clara Bow Clara Bow American actress (1905–1965) Contemporary
  2. 2 Clara Petacci Clara Petacci Mistress of Benito Mussolini (1912–1945) Contemporary
  3. 3 Clara Barton Clara Barton American Civil War nurse and founder of the American Red Cross (1821–1912) 19th century
  4. 4 Clara Schumann Clara Schumann German pianist and composer (1819–1896) 19th century
  5. 5 Clara Blandick Clara Blandick American actress (1876-1962) 19th century
  6. 6 Clara Zetkin Clara Zetkin German politician (1857–1933) 19th century
  7. 7 Clara Lago Clara Lago Spanish actress (born 1990) Contemporary
  8. 8 Clara Immerwahr Clara Immerwahr German chemist (1870–1915) 19th century
  9. 9 Clara Hughes Clara Hughes Canadian speed skater b. 1972 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Clara Morgane Clara Morgane French singer and former pornographic film actress b. 1981 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Clara Peeters Clara Peeters Dutch artist 1594–1657 · 16th century
  12. 12 Clara Rockmore Clara Rockmore Lithuanian violinist and thereminist (1911–1998) Contemporary
  13. 13 Clara Alonso Clara Alonso Argentine actress, singer and TV hostess b. 1990 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Clara Campoamor Clara Campoamor Spanish politician, lawyer, writer and feminist (1888–1972) 19th century
  15. 15 Clara Kimball Young Clara Kimball Young American actress (1890–1960) 19th century
  16. 16 Clara Haskil Clara Haskil Romanian classical pianist (1895–1960) 19th century
  17. 17 Clara Rojas Clara Rojas Colombian vice presidential candidate b. 1964 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Clara Reeve Clara Reeve English novelist (1729–1807) 18th century
  19. 19 Clara Ponsatí Clara Ponsatí Spanish economist b. 1957 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Clara, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Clara?

The median living Clara is about 23 years old. Half of all living Claras are between 9 and 72 years old.

How many people named Clara are alive today?

An estimated 108 thousand people named Clara are alive in the United States, based on 301,540 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Clara mean?

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.

How popular is the name Clara in 2025?

Clara ranked #63 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 3,601 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Clara?

301,540 babies have been named Clara in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Clara most popular?

Clara peaked in 1918, when 5,800 newborns received the name.

Is Clara a boy or girl name?

Clara is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Clara rising or falling?

Clara is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Clara become more popular?

Clara is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,917 girls named Clara in 2030, which would rank around #58. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Clara?

Well-known people named Clara include Clara Bow (actor), Clara Petacci (politician), Clara Barton (social activist).

Names like Clara

Names that sound and feel close to Clara: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Clara with similar names → More names starting with C →