Clare
Clare was given to 283 girls in 2025, #924 among girls’ names; 34,510 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 23,100 Americans named Clare and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (67% of everyone recorded); the median is 30 years old and half are between 17 and 61.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Clare by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Clare mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Clare is “a unisex given name from Latin, more often spelled Claire from the 20th century onward.” Its etymology gives the sense “bright, shining, clear” (clarus).
Also “a male given name transferred from the surname, of quite uncommon usage.”
Medieval English vernacular form of Clara, from the Latin clara, feminine of clarus (“bright, shining, clear”), a post-classical name made famous by the 13th century Saint Clara of Assisi. In Oxfordshire, from Clarora, a clay slope.
/klɛɚ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Clare?
#924 among girls’ names, 2025
Clare fell from #731 in 2015 to #924 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.22 to 0.18 per 1,000.
512 babies in 1999, the peak
Clare peaked in 1999, when 512 babies were given it (507 girls, #509 among girls’ names). The 283 births of 2025 are 55% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 283 | #924 | 0.18 |
| 2024 | 277 | #949 | 0.17 |
| 2023 | 260 | #985 | 0.16 |
| 2022 | 257 | #1,012 | 0.16 |
| 2021 | 329 | #837 | 0.20 |
| 2020 | 329 | #831 | 0.20 |
| 2019 | 344 | #803 | 0.20 |
| 2018 | 357 | #763 | 0.21 |
| 2017 | 315 | #867 | 0.18 |
| 2016 | 394 | #722 | 0.22 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 389 | #731 | 0.22 |
| 2014 | 387 | #723 | 0.22 |
| 2013 | 377 | #728 | 0.21 |
| 2012 | 379 | #731 | 0.22 |
| 2011 | 414 | #679 | 0.24 |
| 2010 | 421 | #681 | 0.24 |
| 2009 | 405 | #713 | 0.22 |
| 2008 | 453 | #674 | 0.24 |
| 2007 | 473 | #630 | 0.25 |
| 2006 | 439 | #659 | 0.23 |
| 2005 | 412 | #675 | 0.22 |
| 2004 | 419 | #652 | 0.23 |
| 2003 | 417 | #638 | 0.23 |
| 2002 | 433 | #597 | 0.24 |
| 2001 | 460 | #562 | 0.26 |
| 2000 | 485 | #535 | 0.27 |
| 1999 | 507 | #509 | 0.29 |
| 1998 | 510 | #500 | 0.29 |
| 1997 | 446 | #535 | 0.26 |
| 1996 | 450 | #526 | 0.26 |
| 1995 | 388 | #587 | 0.22 |
| 1994 | 355 | #623 | 0.20 |
| 1993 | 328 | #668 | 0.18 |
| 1992 | 323 | #679 | 0.18 |
| 1991 | 323 | #669 | 0.17 |
| 1990 | 338 | #656 | 0.18 |
| 1989 | 279 | #710 | 0.15 |
| 1988 | 253 | #740 | 0.14 |
| 1987 | 249 | #725 | 0.14 |
| 1986 | 212 | #793 | 0.12 |
| 1985 | 208 | #798 | 0.12 |
| 1984 | 210 | #768 | 0.12 |
| 1983 | 170 | #891 | 0.10 |
| 1982 | 184 | #846 | 0.11 |
| 1981 | 143 | #1,015 | 0.09 |
| 1980 | 131 | #1,078 | 0.08 |
| 1979 | 130 | #1,064 | 0.08 |
| 1978 | 123 | #1,072 | 0.08 |
| 1977 | 115 | #1,111 | 0.08 |
| 1976 | 116 | #1,055 | 0.08 |
| 1975 | 110 | #1,069 | 0.08 |
| 1974 | 104 | #1,116 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 110 | #1,055 | 0.08 |
| 1972 | 77 | #1,315 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 75 | #1,406 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 116 | #1,052 | 0.07 |
| 1969 | 115 | #1,010 | 0.07 |
| 1968 | 132 | #900 | 0.08 |
| 1967 | 149 | #815 | 0.09 |
| 1966 | 167 | #759 | 0.10 |
| 1965 | 180 | #745 | 0.10 |
| 1964 | 243 | #656 | 0.13 |
| 1963 | 286 | #587 | 0.15 |
| 1962 | 318 | #549 | 0.16 |
| 1961 | 334 | #538 | 0.17 |
| 1960 | 321 | #538 | 0.16 |
| 1959 | 313 | #548 | 0.15 |
| 1958 | 333 | #528 | 0.17 |
| 1957 | 293 | #560 | 0.14 |
| 1956 | 271 | #570 | 0.13 |
| 1955 | 318 | #517 | 0.16 |
| 1954 | 261 | #551 | 0.13 |
| 1953 | 323 | #478 | 0.17 |
| 1952 | 248 | #545 | 0.13 |
| 1951 | 255 | #518 | 0.14 |
| 1950 | 265 | #495 | 0.15 |
| 1949 | 245 | #525 | 0.14 |
| 1948 | 223 | #554 | 0.13 |
| 1947 | 267 | #505 | 0.15 |
| 1946 | 241 | #503 | 0.15 |
| 1945 | 217 | #493 | 0.17 |
| 1944 | 225 | #475 | 0.17 |
| 1943 | 212 | #512 | 0.15 |
| 1942 | 163 | #580 | 0.12 |
| 1941 | 162 | #550 | 0.13 |
| 1940 | 173 | #522 | 0.15 |
| 1939 | 156 | #532 | 0.14 |
| 1938 | 143 | #574 | 0.13 |
| 1937 | 168 | #507 | 0.16 |
| 1936 | 167 | #500 | 0.16 |
| 1935 | 167 | #488 | 0.16 |
| 1934 | 188 | #472 | 0.18 |
| 1933 | 199 | #466 | 0.20 |
| 1932 | 226 | #439 | 0.21 |
| 1931 | 234 | #423 | 0.22 |
| 1930 | 231 | #445 | 0.21 |
| 1929 | 208 | #459 | 0.19 |
| 1928 | 231 | #450 | 0.20 |
| 1927 | 241 | #444 | 0.20 |
| 1926 | 241 | #440 | 0.20 |
| 1925 | 254 | #433 | 0.21 |
| 1924 | 217 | #471 | 0.17 |
| 1923 | 240 | #436 | 0.20 |
| 1922 | 229 | #453 | 0.19 |
| 1921 | 241 | #445 | 0.20 |
| 1920 | 237 | #435 | 0.20 |
| 1919 | 233 | #430 | 0.21 |
| 1918 | 255 | #410 | 0.22 |
| 1917 | 189 | #474 | 0.17 |
| 1916 | 215 | #427 | 0.21 |
| 1915 | 171 | #472 | 0.17 |
| 1914 | 169 | #407 | 0.22 |
| 1913 | 113 | #472 | 0.18 |
| 1912 | 132 | #402 | 0.24 |
| 1911 | 84 | #443 | 0.20 |
| 1910 | 94 | #407 | 0.24 |
| 1909 | 73 | #431 | 0.21 |
| 1908 | 70 | #430 | 0.21 |
| 1907 | 55 | #482 | 0.17 |
| 1906 | 59 | #445 | 0.20 |
| 1905 | 67 | #415 | 0.23 |
| 1904 | 59 | #422 | 0.21 |
| 1903 | 57 | #421 | 0.22 |
| 1902 | 57 | #408 | 0.22 |
| 1901 | 47 | #432 | 0.20 |
| 1900 | 63 | #424 | 0.21 |
| 1899 | 37 | #482 | 0.16 |
| 1898 | 59 | #401 | 0.23 |
| 1897 | 48 | #420 | 0.20 |
| 1896 | 53 | #388 | 0.22 |
| 1895 | 47 | #412 | 0.20 |
| 1894 | 56 | #372 | 0.25 |
| 1893 | 30 | #504 | 0.14 |
| 1892 | 56 | #351 | 0.26 |
| 1891 | 34 | #432 | 0.18 |
| 1890 | 35 | #431 | 0.18 |
| 1889 | 34 | #416 | 0.19 |
| 1888 | 43 | #366 | 0.24 |
| 1887 | 31 | #390 | 0.21 |
| 1886 | 26 | #426 | 0.18 |
| 1885 | 27 | #396 | 0.20 |
| 1884 | 38 | #320 | 0.29 |
| 1883 | 22 | #398 | 0.20 |
| 1882 | 21 | #391 | 0.19 |
| 1881 | 20 | #375 | 0.22 |
| 1880 | 15 | #435 | 0.16 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Clare a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 34,510 Americans recorded as Clare, 91% are girls and 9% boys. In 2025 it went to 283 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Clare: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Clare, and how old are they?
23,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 67% of the 34,510 Americans ever recorded as Clare. The median Clare alive today is 30 years old; half are between 17 and 61.
The 2020 Census counted 25,764 people named Clare (24,926 women and girls, 838 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 22,819 born in the U.S. The Census count is 13% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,130 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 4,460 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,860 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 4,300 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 7,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,270 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Clare born?
The states with the most babies named Clare are New York, Texas and Ohio, with 26% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 25 | #662 | 1.5× |
| Texas | 20 | #1,279 | 0.4× |
| Ohio | 17 | #600 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 16 | #602 | 1.3× |
| New Jersey | 15 | #504 | 1.5× |
| Maryland | 15 | #360 | 1.0× |
| California | 14 | #1,596 | 0.7× |
| Massachusetts | 14 | #402 | 1.8× |
| Florida | 14 | #1,067 | 0.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 12 | #773 | 1.5× |
Where Clare is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Clare is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Clare with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 559,065 babies since 1880, Clare is the third most given (6.2% of them). In 2025 it was given to 283 of their 7,655 babies (3.7%), again the third most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Clare
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Clare and names like it
- Compare Clare and ClaraBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sClare peaked in 1999.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Clare since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Clare: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1999The year the most babies were named Clare.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Clare alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with CMost given first.