Latin clarus, "clear, bright" — bright; clear. Saint Clare of Assisi founded the Poor Clares in 1212.
Claire ranks 68th among American girls in 2025, with 3,487 born that year. Its best year was 2016, when 5,216 babies were given the name, ranking 40th. The typical living American called Claire is about 21 years old today. It is relatively most common in Vermont, where it accounts for 0.46% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.