Klara is the German, Scandinavian and Slavic spelling of Clara, from the Latin clarus, which means "clear", "bright" or "famous". Saint Clare of Assisi, the companion of Saint Francis, spread the name across Europe in the 13th century, and American readers meet a Klara in Heidi. Klara stood at number 1836 in 2015, peaked at number 1457 in 2019 and ranks 1804 among girls' names in 2025.