Claira
Feminine · “bright”
Claira respells Clara, and the Latin behind it is bright — clarus, the root of clarity, declare and clarion, all of them about being unmistakable.
How old is the name Claira?
Claira first appears in US birth records in 1927 — 98 years ago. The typical Claira is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 2,700 people named Claira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Claira most popular?
Claira peaked in 2014, reaching #1493 nationally. Today it ranks #1818, 325 places below that high. See the whole 2014 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From clarus to Claira
The story of Claira
Clare of Assisi followed Francis in 1212 and founded the Poor Clares, an order of enclosed women that still exists. Clara was a Victorian staple and returned sharply from the 2000s. American families produced Claira and Clarah as respellings, and Claira appears in the registers in the 2010s in current use.
Meaning
bright, clear, famous
From the Latin clarus, 'bright', 'clear' or 'famous'. Clara is its feminine. The same root gives clarity, declare, clarify and clarion. The Latin is ordinary and the meaning undisputed; the -ai- is a modern American respelling.
How the name formed
- clarus
- Clara
- Claira
Related forms: Clara · Klara · Claire
Pronouncing Claira
KLAIR-uh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Some bearers say KLAH-ruh, following the Latin.
Nicknames for Claira
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1927
- Most girls named
- 2014149 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1493reached in 2014
- Change vs 2024
- −5.2%110 in 2025, from 116
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Claira in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Clara in English — spelling variant
- Klara in German — related form
- Claire in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Michigan, Indiana.
Clairas among us
people named Claira are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 14,612 born in 2025 was named Claira
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Claira
- #1818
- Claira on the 2025 chart
- #833
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Claira went to 110 girls in 2025, but Klaira is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 127, which makes it the 833rd most-given girls’ name of the year — 985 places above the chart.
- Claira110
- Klaira17
About 1 girl in 12,656 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 14,612 for Claira itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Angelene test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Claira's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Angelene climbed just as high around 1937, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Angelene's path sketches the road Claira is walking now.
Claira sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Claira is headed
Claira should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Claira beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Claira in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The bright meaning is transparent, undisputed and unusually good.
- A founder of a religious order stands behind it.
- Clare is available as a related form with a long record.
- Clara is the standard spelling and will be assumed.
- The first vowel splits between two readings.
- The -ai- will need dictating every time.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Claira
Feminine · #1818 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Clairas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,700 people named Claira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Claira?
- Claira is the most-used spelling in US records — 110 of the 127 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Klaira.
- How popular is the name Claira in 2025?
- Claira ranks #1818 among US girl names in 2025, with 110 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Claira?
- About 1 in every 14,612 US girls born in 2025 was named Claira — 110 in all.
- Will my child share the name Claira with classmates?
- Claira will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Claira
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lotus#1818 · Kailyn#1818 · Winsley#1818 · Jaisley#1818 · Adah#1818 · Belinda#1818 · Nailah#1818 · Story#1818
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Claira? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Claira and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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