Clara
Latin clarus, “bright, clear, famous.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
A silent-era favorite personified by 'It girl' Clara Bow, revived a century later.
Clara appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in 66 different years between 1880 and 2025. It spent 8 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1918, when 5,778 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 43 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1885, at No. 7. In 2025 it ranked No. 63 for girls. All told, 301,540 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Klara (3,087), Claira (2,727) (total births since 1880)
Explore Clara interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 17,717 | No. 7 |
| 1890s | 25,473 | No. 9 |
| 1900s | 23,899 | No. 18 |
| 1910s | 44,346 | No. 32 |
| 1920s | 48,183 | No. 44 |
| 1930s | 31,658 | No. 61 |
| 1940s | 20,028 | No. 111 |
| 1950s | 12,768 | No. 178 |
| 1960s | 6,505 | No. 309 |
| 1970s | 3,290 | No. 487 |
| 1980s | 3,668 | No. 511 |
| 1990s | 6,266 | No. 370 |
| 2000s | 12,789 | No. 199 |
| 2010s | 26,657 | No. 95 |
| 2020s | 17,277 | No. 63 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
🍼 Enjoying this? Buy my baby a diaper
Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.