What does Claire mean?
Claire is the French form of Clara, from the Latin clarus, meaning “clear,” “bright,” or “famous.” Its single syllable gives it a different rhythm from Clara's two, while keeping the same Latin root. The spelling has become familiar in English as well as French.
Clara is the feminine form of Clarus. The broader name family gained an important medieval association through Saint Clare of Assisi, whose Italian name was Chiara. A thirteenth-century follower of Francis of Assisi, she founded the religious community known as the Poor Clares. Claire, Clare, Clara, and Chiara belong to this shared history, despite their different spellings and sounds.
Claire McCardell and everyday design
American designer Claire McCardell brought the name into fashion history through clothes made for movement and everyday use. Her 1942 Pop-over was a wrap dress that could serve several purposes, from house dress to cover-up. Its original price was $6.95, placing the design in the world of practical clothing rather than clothes intended only for display.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art preserves an example of the cotton design. McCardell also used details associated with workwear, including visible double stitching, as part of her fashion vocabulary. A simple garment could gain its character from construction, fabric, and the way it moved on the wearer. The Pop-over's adaptable shape became a recurring idea in her collections. For Claire, this connection brings together a very compact name and a designer remembered for making useful clothes visually distinctive.
Claire Danes on screen and stage
Actor Claire Danes provides a more recent cultural connection. Her early television role as Angela Chase in My So-Called Life brought her an Emmy nomination. She later won an Emmy in 2010 for playing Temple Grandin in the television film of that name, followed by lead-actress wins in 2012 and 2013 for Carrie Mathison in Homeland.
Her work also includes the stage: she made her Broadway debut as Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion in 2007. These roles give the name associations spanning teenage drama, biographical storytelling, and a play centered on language and social identity.
Pronunciation and related names
In English, Claire is pronounced KLAIR, one syllable. French also gives it one syllable, with a French r at the end. Clare is a closely related spelling with the same usual English pronunciation; Clara adds a final vowel and another syllable. Chiara offers the Italian branch of the family. Claire is already short enough to use comfortably in full.
Claire in American name records
Claire's American girls' peak came in 2016, when 5,216 babies received the name and it ranked No. 40. In 2025, it ranked No. 68 with 3,487 girls. It remains a familiar contemporary choice in those records, with a history reaching far beyond its recent American popularity.
Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution
Meaning and history draw on the references below. American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling; counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.
How popular is Claire?
In 2025, Claire ranked #68 among girls in the United States, with 3,487 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1880; its largest annual count was 5,216 in 2016. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.