How Many People Are Named Clara?
people named Clara are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 3,256 people in the US has this name
Based on 301,540 babies named Clara in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
⭐ Uncommon
Peak Year
5,800 births
Trend
Stable (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus which meant "clear, bright, famous". The name Clarus was borne by a few early saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares. As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara became more popular in the 19th century.
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Almost all of the babies given the name Clara (99.9%) were girls.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named Clara alive today is about 36 years old, and 56% are under 30. Half of them were between 9 and 70 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
Clara first appears in the records in 1880 and was given most often in 1918, to 5,800 babies. In 2025, 3,601 babies got the name.
Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
Clara reached #7 among girls' names in 1885, and was in the top 10 in 8 years between 1883 and 1892. In 2025 it ranked #63.
| Girls | |
|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #63 |
| Best rank | #7 (1885) |
| Years in the top 10 | 8 |
| Years in the top 100 | 66 (1880 to 2025) |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #55 in the 1920s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named Clara alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Clara were born in Texas than in any other state: about 8,247 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Clara was given 2.3 times as often in Alaska, 1.8 times in Mississippi and 1.6 times in Alabama.
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