Clarise
Feminine · “Bright”
Clarise writes the c of Clarice as an s, and before an e the two letters are the same sound in English. That makes the change inaudible and, in one narrow sense, more accurate: the s is unambiguous where the c has to be worked out from the letter after it.
How old is the name Clarise?
Clarise first appears in US birth records in 1901 — 124 years ago. The typical Clarise alive today was born around 1955, making them about 70 years old. About 700 people named Clarise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Clarise most popular?
Clarise peaked in 1901, reaching #1679 nationally. See the whole 1901 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From clarus to Clarise
The story of Clarise
The name is older in French literature than most people assume. A Clarice appears in the Charlemagne romances, the cycle of poems about the emperor's knights that was as widely read in medieval Europe as the Arthurian material and is now almost entirely forgotten outside specialist reading; she turns up in the Italian retellings as well, where the whole cycle was reworked into the enormous comic epics of the Renaissance. That gives the name a documented life going back to the twelfth century, which is a good deal further than Clarissa, the eighteenth-century Latinized version that is now better known.
Meaning
Bright, clear
From the Latin clarus, bright or clear, the root behind Clara, Clare, clarity and declare. Clarice is the French form, made by adding a suffix to the shorter name. The respelling of the consonant changes nothing about the meaning or the sound.
How the name formed
- clarus
- Clara
- Clarice
- Clarise
Related forms: Clarice · Clarice · Clarisa
Pronouncing Clarise
kluh-REESE
Two syllables with the stress at the back. The ending is said with a plain s in both spellings, since English c before an e always is; the change is therefore visual only.
Nicknames for Clarise
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
- 1901
- Most girls named
- 192421 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1679reached in 1901
- Change vs 2015
- +14.3%8 in 2020, from 7
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.
Clarise in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Clarice in French — same name
- Clarice in Italian — same name
- Clarisa in Spanish — same name
Clarises among us
people named Clarise are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Clarise sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Final stress gives the name a definite finish and makes it carry when called.
- Clare is a complete, established name sitting inside it.
- The meaning is transparent and connected to ordinary English words.
- Clarice is the standard spelling in three languages and will be written instead.
- It will be heard as Clarissa, which is a different and commoner name.
- It is strongly dated to the turn of the last century in American records.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Clarise to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Clarise? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Clarise
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Clarises are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Clarise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Clarise in 2025?
- Clarise is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Clarise with classmates?
- Clarise will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Clarise? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Clarise and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle