Clare is the English spelling of Clara, which comes from the Latin clarus and means "bright", "clear" or "famous". Saint Clare of Assisi, the companion of Saint Francis who founded the order of the Poor Clares, has kept the name alive in the Catholic world since the 13th century, and it is also an Irish county. Clare ranked number 535 in 2000, dropped just below the top 1000 in 2022 and has been back since 2023, standing at number 924 in 2025.