Girls' name · peaked in 1885
Clara name popularity since 1925
163,268 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Clara. Half of them were born in 1955 or earlier, so the typical Clara is about 71 years old in 2026. Clara peaked in 1885 as the #7 name for girls, and it ranked #63 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 163,268
- Named Clara, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1885
- #7 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #63
- for girls in 2025 (3,601 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 162,765 girls · 503 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 2.54× its national share
Peak year is the year Clara made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Clara births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Clara peaked earlier, in 1885.
- Steepest fall: Between 1949 and 1954, Clara's share of baby girls fell by 39%, from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 1,640.
- Fastest rise: Between 2009 and 2014, it became 1.8× more common, from 1 in 1,110 baby girls to 1 in 625.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Clara's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Clara.
Decade by decade
Babies named Clara in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 21,859 | 121 | – |
| 1930s | 31,658 | 214 | #81 |
| 1940s | 20,028 | 76 | #136 |
| 1950s | 12,768 | 32 | #224 |
| 1960s | 6,505 | 10 | #386 |
| 1970s | 3,290 | 5 | #522 |
| 1980s | 3,668 | 18 | #554 |
| 1990s | 6,266 | 5 | #397 |
| 2000s | 12,789 | 5 | #246 |
| 2010s | 26,657 | 17 | #98 |
| 2020–25 | 17,277 | 0 | #63 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
32.4% of babies named Clara from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Clara is most popular
The index compares Clara's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Clara.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 2.54× | 4,980 |
| Alabama | 2.00× | 5,726 |
| Arkansas | 1.82× | 3,031 |
| North Carolina | 1.72× | 7,915 |
| South Carolina | 1.67× | 3,777 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Clara and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Clara (this page) | 162,765 | 1885 |
| Klara | 2,993 | 2019 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Clara's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Clara.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Clara (1885).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data