Clara

See also: clara

English

Learned borrowing from Latin clāra, feminine of clārus (“bright, shining, clear”), a post-classical name made famous by the 13th century Saint Clara (Clare) of Assisi. Doublet of Clare and Claire.

Clara

A female given name from Latin.
- 1830, Mary Russell Mitford, Our Village: Fourth Series: Cottage Names::
  But the fashion spreads deeper and wider; the village is infected and the village green; Amelias and Claras sweep your rooms and cook your dinners, gentle Sophias milk your cows, and if you ask a pretty smiling girl at a cottage door to tell you her name, the rosy lips lisp out Caroline.
- 1956, Tad Mosel, Other People's Houses. Six Television Plays., page 123:
  My mother called me Clara. And everybody else called me Clara until I was fourteen years old. Then I got sick of it. Clara! Sounds like breaking glass. Did you ever stop to think of that, Frank? Say it fast and hit the C.
A town in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, France; named Clara-Villerach since 2017.
A town in County Offaly, Ireland.
An area in Taylor County, Florida, United States.
An unincorporated community in Wayne County, Mississippi, United States.

cognates and transliterations of the name Clara

Clara

From Italian Clara, Latin clāra. Latinate variant of Claire.

Clara f

a female given name
- 1857, Gustave Flaubert, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling, Madame Bovary: Part II, Chapter III::
  Pendant sa convalescence, elle s’occupa beaucoup à chercher un nom pour sa fille. D’abord, elle passa en revue tous ceux qui avaient des terminaisons italiennes, tels que Clara, Louisa, Amanda, Atala ; elle aimait assez Galsuinde, plus encore Yseult ou Léocadie.
  Whilst she was getting well she occupied herself much in seeking a name for her daughter. First she went over all those that have Italian endings, such as Clara, Louisa, Amanda, Atala; she liked Galsuinde pretty well, and Yseult or Leocadie still better.