Top 80 US name Girls' name Peak 1918 296,898 births

Clara — #78 US girls' name

296,898 babies named Clara in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s177171890s254731900s238991910s443461920s481831930s316581940s200281950s127691960s65041970s32901980s36671990s62662000s127822010s266542020s13662
#78
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 99.6% of names given to girls today.

1920s
Peak decade

16% of everyone ever named Clara was born in this single decade.

1918
Single peak year

5,778 babies were named Clara in 1918 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Clara

The Social Security Administration has registered 296,898 babies named Clara between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Clara currently holds the #78 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1918, when 5,778 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Clara performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 48,183 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Clara shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 15,012 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by New York and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Clara in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Clara in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 296,898 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Clara at a glance

Top 100 girls' name

Total births

296,898

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1918

5,778 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#78

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Clara popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 girls' name
Peak year (1918)
5,778
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
02,0004,0006,0008,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 1,226

Clara popularity over time — boys

1,016 total births recorded since 1880 (Clara as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 1,016 births
010203040 201919631943193319231913190318911880 8

Clara by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
48,183 births that decade — 16% of Clara's all-time total
1880s177171890s254731900s238991910s443461920s481831930s316581940s200281950s127691960s65041970s32901980s36671990s62662000s127822010s266542020s13662

Clara by state

Where Clara concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Clara
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
15,012 5.1%
#2 New York
13,349 4.5%
#3 Pennsylvania
12,982 4.4%
#4 Ohio
10,851 3.7%
#5 North Carolina
10,602 3.6%
#6 California
10,222 3.4%
#7 Illinois
9,382 3.2%
#8 Georgia
9,119 3.1%
Texas share of Clara's total US births 5.1%
Even split

15,012 of 296,898 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Clara appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Clara?
296,898 babies have been named Clara since 1880. It currently ranks #78 among girls. The peak year was 1918 with 5,778 births.
When was Clara most popular?
Clara was most popular in the 1920s decade with 48,183 total births. The single peak year was 1918.
Where is Clara most popular?
The top states for the name Clara are Texas (15,012 births), New York (13,349 births), Pennsylvania (12,982 births).
How long has the name Clara been used?
Clara has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Clara?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Claire, Claudia, Clarissa, Clare, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Clara

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.