Alternatives to Claire or 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 around Number 100, making it a modern classic that's neither too popular nor unfamiliar.

All names bella have been popular in recent years, and though Clarabella suffers from its association with Clarabelle clown and cow, it may rise as those negative images fade.

An unusual combination name which feels fresher than most, thanks to the up-and-coming vintage star Clara.

This is the original, more prosaic spelling, but the airier Claire now dominates.

An improvement on Clarabelle.

If you’re a fan of the annual animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, you’ll recognize the name of Rudolph’s beautiful doe sweetheart, pronounced cla-REES—uncomfortably close to the Silence of the Lambs pronunciation. Clarice was the name of the wife of Lorenzo de' Medici, and Clarice Cliff was a famed British ceramics artist. Though a Top 300 name from 1906 to 1934, modern parents might prefer the more delicate Clarissa.

Clarimond is related to the Occitan name Esclarmonde, and is probably the more wearable of the two variations.

A poetic name first used in Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene" in 1596, it had a literary vogue in the 18th century, especially favored by Robert Burns. "inda" names--Melinda, Belinda, Linda" are not particularly in right now.

Tuneful variation on the Claire names.

The pronunciation is different enough -- it's clar-EE-sa -- to make this feel like a distinct name. But an improvement on Claire or Clarissa? Not really.

Clarissa, the daintier version of Claire, has a long literary history of its own, having been featured in the novels of Samuel Richardson, Charles Dickens, and Virginia Woolf—Clarissa was the title character of Mrs. Dalloway—not to mention the 1990s teen sitcom, Clarissa Explains it All.

A rising choice for girls that fits in with tailored surnames such as Sloane, Greer, and Blair.

An attractive and unusual name that may be a variation of Cleo, Clea was possibly invented by Lawrence Durrell for a character in his Alexandria Quartet.

An Irish surname, cognate of the English Clark, which would make a lovely literary option for girls, inspired by Beverly Cleary, author of the popular Ramona series.

Cleo, one of the few girls' names to boast the cool-yet-lively o ending, is of course short for Cleopatra, the name of one of the most powerful women in history.

Clio is the name of the ancient Greek mythological muse of history and heroic poetry, one that is rich with modern charm and would make an intriguing choice, especially thanks to its dynamic o-ending. Unlike the sound-alike Cleo, which brings up visions of Cleopatra, Clio is very much a stand-alone name.

Cora is a lovely, old-fashioned girls' that has been recently rejuvenated by its contemporary-feeling simplicity. In fact, Cora seemed headed straight for the top of the popularity list when the coronavirus pandemic somewhat weakened its appeal.