Claudia
Masculine · “of the Claudian family”
Claudia is given to girls far more often — 128,318 girls against 760 boys since 1880. See Claudia as a girl name
Claudia is one of the great Roman family names in its feminine form, recorded here for boys as well as girls. One woman who carried it staged a public demonstration that Roman writers were still repeating three centuries later.
How old is the name Claudia?
Claudia first appears in US birth records in 1900 — 125 years ago. The typical Claudia alive today was born around 1973, making them about 52 years old. About 500 people named Claudia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Claudia most popular?
Claudia peaked in 1900, reaching #1310 nationally. See the whole 1900 chart.
Where it comes from
From Claudius to Claudia
The story of Claudia
During the war with Carthage, Rome sent for a sacred black stone from Asia Minor on the strength of a prophecy, and the ship carrying it grounded in the Tiber. A woman of the Claudian family, whose chastity was under public question, is said to have prayed that if she were innocent the goddess would let her move the ship, tied her belt to it and pulled it free. The story is told by Ovid and by Livy and was commemorated with a statue that survived two fires. Whether it happened is beside the point; what it shows is a Roman woman turning a rumor into a public test she had arranged herself, and winning.
Meaning
of the Claudian family
The Roman family name is traditionally derived from a word meaning lame, applied to an ancestor. The reading is settled for the family name even though the original bearer is long past recovering.
How the name formed
- Claudius
- Claudia
Related forms: Claudia · Claudia · Claude
Pronouncing Claudia
KLAW-dee-uh
Three syllables with the stress in front. Italian and Spanish keep the au as two distinct vowels, giving KLOW-dee-ah.
Nicknames for Claudia
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
- 1900
- Most boys named
- 198226 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1310reached in 1900
- Change vs 1999
- 0.0%5 in 2002, from 5
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.
Claudia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Claudia in Italian — same name
- Claudia in Spanish — same name
- Claude in French — related form
Claudias among us
people named Claudia 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
Claudia 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
- It works in English, Spanish, Italian, German and Romanian without any adjustment.
- The name behind it is ancient and exceptionally well documented.
- It is read correctly at first sight in every language that uses it.
- The traditional meaning is lame, which is a plain Roman fact and still takes people aback.
- This spelling goes overwhelmingly to girls but is recorded for boys as well, so a form will occasionally guess wrong.
- The au is said two different ways depending on the language, so the name shifts slightly at borders.
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What they receive
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Claudia
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Claudias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Claudia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Claudia in 2025?
- Claudia is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Claudia with classmates?
- Claudia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Charles#48 · Christopher#68 · Carl#1132 · Christian#96 · Caleb#58 · Cameron#76 · Carlos#150 · Clarence#1499
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Claudia? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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