Clara comes from the Latin clarus and means "bright" or "clear", and by extension famous. Saint Clare of Assisi founded the Poor Clares in the 13th century, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross, and Clara is the girl who receives the Nutcracker in Tchaikovsky's ballet. The name ranked number 353 in the United States in 2000, hovered just outside the top 100 for a decade and entered it in 2023; it stands at number 63 among girls in 2025, its best rank in this century.