Claudia
About Claudia
Claudia is a classic name with ancient Roman roots. Never truly in or truly out, Claudia feels like a strong, modern choice that hits the sweet spot between too popular and too unusual..
Claudia was a common girls’ name in ancient Rome, borne by the wives of both Nero and Pontius Pilate. The name is mentioned in the New Testament in one of St. Paul's letters to Timothy as one of the Christian women in Rome. As a result, it was taken up in the sixteenth century and has been in moderate use ever since.
There was a popular mid-century series of novels by Rose Franken, beginning with Claudia: The Story of a Marriage. The name was also used by Agatha Christie and Penelope Lively, as well as being a main character in Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire. Model Claudia Schiffer gave it an infusion of glamour, as had earlier Italian actress Claudia Cardinale. Michelle Pfeiffer has a daughter named Claudia.
While some parents may be put off by the common "lame" meaning, some etymologists theorize that the name may relate to the word for enclosure or clause, an alternate meaning that may appeal to a child with a form of this otherwise appealing name.
Pronounced KLAU-dee-uh.
As of October 2026, Claudia ranked #1096 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #111 in 1952, Nameberry popularity #386.
Editor's take: The name Claudia is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "lame; enclosure".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #731 | 384 | 215 |
| 2015 | #744 | 379 | 212.3 |
| 2016 | #763 | 374 | 211.1 |
| 2017 | #834 | 326 | 188.8 |
| 2018 | #866 | 313 | 184 |
| 2019 | #1,053 | 243 | 144.8 |
| 2020 | #1,024 | 245 | 151.6 |
| 2021 | #1,029 | 246 | 149.9 |
| 2022 | #1,094 | 228 | 139 |
| 2023 | #1,080 | 229 | 142.7 |
| 2024 | #1,090 | 225 | 138.9 |
| 2025 | #1,096 | 219 | 136.3 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Claudia.
- Irene
- Francesca
- Lucille
- Miriam
- Sylvia
- Veronica
- Georgiana
- Lucinda
- Helena
- Gwendolyn
- Antonia
- Clarissa
- Annette
- Diana
- Priscilla
- Tabitha
- Magdalena
- Rosalind
- Felicity
- Simone
Claudia on lists
Famous Claudias
- Claudia (Marisa) Ruggerini
Italian partisan
- Claudia Schiffer
German supermodel
- Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale
Italian actress
- Claudia Ann Christian
American actress
- Claudia Lee Black
Australian actress
- Claudia Pechstein
German speed skater
- Claudia Jordan
American model and TV personality
- Claudia Lynn Cohen
American gossip columnist and TV reporter
- Claudia Anne Winkleman
English television presenter
- Claudia Kohde
Kilsch, German tennis player
- Claudia Porwick
German tennis player
- Claudia Karvan
Australian actress
- Claudia Fragapane
GB gymnast
- Claudia O'Doherty
Australian actress and comedian
- Claudia Rose Kelley
daughter of actress Michelle Pfeiffer and TV writer/producer David E. Kelley
- Claudia Alende (b. 1993)
Brazilian singer, model, called the "Latina Megan Fox" for her resemblance to the actress
- Claudia Sulewski
American YouTuber
Claudia in pop culture
- Claudia Joy Holden
character on TV's "Army Wives"
- Claudia
little girl in "Interview with the Vampire"
- Claudia Donovan
the Tech Girl on TV's "Warehouse 13"
- Claudia Jean "CJ" Cregg
character on TV's "The West Wing"
- Claudia Kishi
character in The Baby,Sitters Club series
- Claudia Wolf
character in video game "Silent Hill 3"
- Claudia Kincaid
in"From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler," by E.L. Konigsburg
- Claudia Salinger
character on TV's "Party of Five"
- Claudia Parr
main character in "Baby Proof" by Emily Giffin
- Claudia Da Forli
character in G. A. Henty's, A Knight of the White Cross
- Claudia Arlex
character in Catherine Fisher's Incarceron and Sapphique
- Claudia Perret
character in mobile game “Murder in the Alps”
- Claudia Tapper
character in the "The Tapper Twins" series by Geoff Rodkey
- Claudia
character in the animated TV series "The Dragon Prince"
- Claudia Kishi
Song by the Linda Lindas, inspired by the Baby Sitters Club character