Clara
Top 1000
About Clara
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.
Pronounced KLAR-uh.
As of October 2026, Clara ranked #63 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #7 in 1885, Nameberry popularity #31.
Editor's take: The name Clara is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "bright, clear".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #108 | 2,860 | 1,601 |
| 2015 | #98 | 3,070 | 1,719.8 |
| 2016 | #100 | 3,075 | 1,735.3 |
| 2017 | #95 | 3,044 | 1,763.1 |
| 2018 | #103 | 2,892 | 1,700.1 |
| 2019 | #95 | 2,950 | 1,757.7 |
| 2020 | #103 | 2,696 | 1,667.8 |
| 2021 | #101 | 2,693 | 1,641.2 |
| 2022 | #110 | 2,552 | 1,556 |
| 2023 | #98 | 2,661 | 1,658.4 |
| 2024 | #78 | 3,060 | 1,888.7 |
| 2025 | #63 | 3,601 | 2,240.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Clara.
- Eleanor
- Nora
- Eliza
- Penelope
- Alice
- Cora
- Eloise
- Evelyn
- Lucy
- Audrey
- Adelaide
- Josephine
- Charlotte
- Amelia
- Ada
- Genevive
- Mae
- Juliet
- Adeline
- Claire
Clara on lists
Famous Claras
- 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
- Clara Bow
American silent film star
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
- Clara Grant
main character in novel and movie "Regretting You"
- Clara
Glitter Clover in English dub of Doki Doki! Prettycure
- "Clara Bow"
Song by Taylor Swift featured in "The Tortured Poets Department"