It is derived from the word clarus which is of the meaning 'clear, bright, famous'.
Use of the first name has been reinforced by the surname Clare, which is of a different origin and is ultimately from a county name in Suffolk and the Irish Clare River. The surname was introduced to Ireland by Richard de Clare or 'Stronbow', 2nd Earl of Pembroke (-1176). [ 1 syll. cla-re, cl-are ] The baby girl name Clare is also used as a boy name, though the use for girls is more popular. It is pronounced as KL EH R- †. Clare's language of origin is Latin and it is predominantly used in English. It is derived from the word clarus which is of the meaning 'clear, bright, famous'. Clare was used as a medieval form of Clara, itself a feminine form of the Latin Clarus; in modern use, English speakers have adopted Clara as a re-Latinized form of the accepted English name Clare. Clare /cla-re/ [1 syll.] as a girls' name (also used less generally as boys' name Clare) is of Latin origin, and the meaning of Clare is bright, famous. The regular English form of Clara since the Middle Ages. Kreatif forms: Clace, Clale, Clyre. Latin Meaning: The name Clare is a Latin baby name. In Latin the meaning of the name Clare is: Illustrious. American Meaning: The name Clare is an American baby name. In America Clare is a very prominent first name for females (#796 out of 4276, Top 19%) and also a very prominent surname for all people (#7328 out of 150436, Top 5%). (2000 U.S. Census). Shown below is the baby name popularity of Clare for girls.
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what does Claré means