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Clara

Latin
"bright, clear"
Pamela Redmond
By Pamela Redmond
Updated Tue Sep 30 2025

Clara Origin and Meaning

The name Clara is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "bright, clear".

Clara is a strong, lovely girls' name that's always ranked among the US Top 1000 girl names but has been climbing since the turn of this century. It now ranks right at Number 78, making it a modern classic that's neither too popular nor unfamiliar.

Long relegated to an Olde World backwater, the European-flavored Clara was long less fashionable than sleeker sister Claire. Now, though the vintage chic Clara is still less popular, it's arguably the more stylish of the two names.

Clara was a Top 10 name in the 1880s, at one time associated with the silent screen 'It Girl,' Clara Bow, and before that with German musician and composer Clara Schumann and Red Cross founder Clara Barton, who was born Clarissa.

Clara is beloved for her leading role in The Nutcracker ballet and as Heidi's invalid friend. Actor Ewan McGregor was an early celebrity adopter of the name for one of his daughters.

Other Clara variations you might want to consider include Clarissa and Clarina, though Clarabelle still seems fit mainly for cows.

# 78 in the US

Clara Rank in US Top 1000

# 5 on Nameberry

Clara Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Clara

20 Names Similar to Clara

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Clara.

Famous People Named Clara

  • Clara Francisca Nunes
    Brazilian samba singer
  • Clara Gordon Bow
    American actress
  • Clara Ellen Butt
    English operatic contralto
  • Clara Read
    English actress
  • Clara Josephine (Wieck) Schumann
    German composer and pianist
  • Clara Louise Maass
    American nurse
  • Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton
    American pioneering nurse
  • Clara Hamilton Harris
    American socialite
  • Clara Blandick
    American actress
  • Clara Alonso
    Spanish model
  • Clara Langhorne Clemens
    American contralto
  • Clara Chung
    American guitarist and singer
  • Clara Mae Shepard Luper
    American civil rights leader
  • Clara Hughes
    Canadian Olympic cyclist and speed skater
  • Clara Haskil
    Romanian pianist
  • Clara Lee (Sung
    min), British,South Korean actress and model
  • Clara Edwards
    American pianist and composer
  • Isabella Clara Eugenia
    sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands
  • Clara Muhammad
    American wife of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad
  • Clara Ward
    American gospel singer of The Ward Singers
  • Clara Driscoll
    American philanthropist
  • Clara Hagopian Jobs
    mother Steve Jobs
  • Clara Lukasiak
    younger sister of reality TV personality Chloe Lukasiak of TV's "Dance Moms"
  • Clara Balzary (b. 1988)
    daughter of musician Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • Clara Mathilde McGregor (b. 1996)
    daughter of actor Ewan McGregor
  • Clara Enola Wire (b. 2002)
    daughter of musician Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers
  • Clara Thomas (b. 2009)
    daughter of TV journalist Nina Hossain and Stuart Thomas
  • Clara Saltykova (b. 2012)
    daughter of actors Inga Strelkova,Ooldina and Vitaly Saltykov
  • Clara Esquerdo
    Spanish rhythmic gymnast
  • Clara Elizabeth So (b. 2016)
    daughter of actress Anna Chlumsky and Shaun So
  • Clara Jane Griffiths (b. 2018)
    daughter of YouTube vloggers Emily & Beau Griffiths of 'A Griffiths Life Vlogs'
  • Clara Eloise Jordan (b. 2019)
    daughter of American actor and singer Jeremy Jordan & American actress, singer, and dancer Ashley Spencer
  • Clara Rockmore
    Lithuanian musician
  • Clara Schumann
    German pianist and composer
  • Clara Webb Butcher
    Mother of singers Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle

The name Clara in Pop Culture

  • Clara Stahlbaum
    main character in ballet The Nutcracker
  • Clara Clayton Brown
    character in movie "Back to the Future Part III"
  • Clara Dudley
    character in "The Haunting of Hill House"
  • Clara
    a character in musical "Passion"
  • Clara Boden
    character in White Teeth by Zadie Smith
  • Clara Allen
    character in Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove"
  • Clara Durrant
    character in Virginia Woolf's "Jacob's Room"
  • Clara Bishop
    character in Royals book series by Geneva Lee
  • Princess Clara
    character in animated TV series "Drawn Together"
  • Clara Gardner
    main character in the Unearthly series
  • Clara Beane
    character in The Guild web series
  • Clara
    character in Bob Dylan's 1975 film "Renaldo and Clara"
  • Clara
    character in E. T. A. Hoffmann's "Der Sandmann"
  • Clara Belle
    character in the video game "MySims"
  • Clara Varner
    a main character in "The Long, Hot Summer"
  • Clara Oswald
    a companion on TV's "Doctor Who"
  • Clara Radley
    character from The Radleys by Matt Haig
  • Clara
    a character from the British TV series "The Paradise"
  • Clara Edwards
    character on "The Andy Griffith Show"
  • Clara Cluck
    member of Mickey Mouse's original farmyard gang
  • Clara Sesemann
    character in book/movie "Heidi"
  • Aunt Clara
    character on TV's "Bewitched"
  • María Clara de los Santos
    main character in "Noli Me Tangere" by José Rizal
  • Clara Wheeler
    character on TV miniseries "Into the West"
  • Clara Callen
    mother of G Callen on TV's "NCIS: Los Angeles"
  • Clara Buhalmet
    character in "Fran Bow"
  • "Clara"
    song by progressive bluegrass band Punch Brothers
  • Clara Drosselmayer
    main character in animated movie "Barbie in the Nutcracker"
  • Clara Nightingale
    character in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir
  • Clara Johnson
    main character of opera,musical "The Light in the Piazza"
  • Clara
    Spanish Vocaloid

International Variations of the name Clara

  • Clarissa
    Italian
  • Clarice
    Italian
  • Clarita
    Spanish

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