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[Opinions] Claire
I am kind of loving the simple Claire today. It's apparently quite popular (#62 in the US), but I've never met a Claire. It seems like a very sweet, kind, old fashioned name. I can't imagine a mean-spirited Claire.What do you think of this name? Do you prefer the spelling Claire, Clair, or Clare? Any combos spring to mind?Thanks!PS: Sorry for the double posting :(
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I go to school with a Claire and I know that a friend's sister is named Claire although I've never met her.I can think of it as sweet and old-fashioned, but I know that there is a stereotype of spoiled teenaged girls. I prefer the spellings Claire and Clare, but I like Claire more. As for combos, what about...Claire Evangeline
Claire Margaret
Claire Elisabeth / Claire Elizabeth
Claire Winifred
Claire Genevieve
Claire Victoria
Claire Virginia
Claire Rosaline
Claire Matilda
Claire Ottilie
Claire Juliet
Claire Madeleine
Claire Josephine
Claire Rosemary
Claire Amelia

This message was edited 3/18/2010, 8:49 AM

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I go to school with a Claire and I know that a friend's sister is named Claire although I've never met her.I can think of it as sweet and old-fashioned, but I know that there is a stereotype of spoiled teenaged girls. I prefer the spellings Claire and Clare, but I like Claire more. As for combos, what about...Claire Evangeline
Claire Margaret
Claire Elisabeth / Claire Elizabeth
Claire Winifred
Claire Genevieve
Claire Victoria
Claire Virginia
Claire Rosaline
Claire Matilda
Claire Ottilie
Claire Juliet
Claire Madeleine
Claire Josephine
Claire Rosemary
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I've loved the name Claire for a long time. It's been on my list for about three or four years now. Recently my love for it has grown even more for a variety of reasons (mostly involving fictional characters named Claire, I'll have to admit). I like the Claire spelling the best, although I did have Clare on my list for a while too.As for combos: my favorite right now would probably be Claire Ophelia. My old Claire combo from a couple of years ago was Claire Isadora.
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I love it both as a fn and mn, spelled Claire. I love the name Isabelle Claire nn Bella Claire / Bella-Claire!
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Bella-Claire is really pretty!
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I love Claire. It's simple and lovely. I know a few, but I've never felt like it was popular. My favorite spelling is Clare.
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Claire Annebet is wicked cute. Is Annebet a mash-up of Anna and Elizabeth?I also really like Claire Edwina a lot, that is really different!Thanks!

This message was edited 3/17/2010, 7:21 AM

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I expect it probably is a combination of Anna/Anne and Elizabeth. I'm embarrassed to admit that I can't remember where I found the name, though, and can't remember if it listed its origins...
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I much prefer Clare. Can't see the point of giving a French spelling and then pronouncing it like good old Oirish Clare. And I also enjoy Clara, though I once met a toddler whose parents announced proudly that they couldn't decide between Clare and Sarah so named her Clara and rhymed it with Sarah. That was a bad day.
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Clara and SarahThey rhyme for me... How do you pronounce them? In my "accent", I guess, Clara is Clair-ah and Sarah is Sair-ah. I think the UK pronunciation of Clara is Clah-rah... is that how it's meant to be said where you are from?
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In South Africa it's always clah-rah; there's quite a strong Dutch and German influence here as well as British. But the namers of Clarah or however they wrote it down were very British Brits, and clearly they thought that changing Clah-rah to Clair-ah-rhymes-with-Sarah was the most daring and innovative action imaginable!She was an only child and rather rowdy; they hoped she'd grow out of it.
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I think it's very sweet. :) I've only known one Claire - a girl in my class in like first grade. I think she was a year older than me (I had a first/second split class). I'm really surprised at the popularity. I never hear it.I prefer the Claire spelling because Clair and Clare are masculine IMO. (My friend's dad's name is Clare.)For some reason, I thought of Claire Margot. I'm not even a huge Margot fan, but I like them together.
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I used to work with a VERY spirited Claire, but not mean-spritied.
She was probably sixteen or seventeen, but that was only maybe a year ago. She was very loud and spastic and outgoing and fun.
I've met a few Claires over the years, but not enough that it is overused by any means.I like it, but I think I prefer Clara in general. I tend to see it as more soft and old-fashioned and Claire as the more modern form.
I like Claire for a girl, but I prefer Clair and Clare for boys.
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My sister and brother-in-law just had a baby in January and named her Claire Elaine. She is named for the song Claire de Lune and my sister's middle name of Elaine. Which also has family ties on both sides. She is adorable. It is a simple yet classic name that fits her to a T!
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I adore Claire- its my favourite cousin's name and I plan on using it as a mn for my first or second daughter (if I have a daughter at all :-p). She is Claire Annette, Annette being after our Nana. Claire Hermione was my combo for awhile when I was younger. I still think that is a bright, sparkly little combo. Most of my Claire combos have it in the mn position though.
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I don't see it as old-fashioned, but artsy. I prefer the spelling as how you said it -- Claire.
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I have a cousin, Claire Louise, and a niece Clare Siobhan. I especially like the combo Clare Siobhan. She chose Valentine for her confirmation name so you could say she's "Clare Siobhan Valentine."
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Clare Siobhan Valentine is awesomely beautiful!
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I don't typically like the Clare spelling, but I have to admit that I really like it paired with Siobhan. BTW, there is a contestant on this season's American Idol named Siobhan. Yay, it's spelled correctly! I was thrilled to see Siobhan get exposure so more people will know how to spell and pronounce it.
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Yay Siobhan on American Idol! I don't watch that show, but I might if a Siobhan starts to look like a winner. Thanks for the hope that the U.S. might get more comfortable with the name. :-)
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I love Claire! I do prefer the Claire spelling, but I like them all. I know two Claires, one is sweet and the other is, for lack of a better word, a jerk. But, I still love the name.Claire Louise
Claire Beatrice
Claire Evangeline
Claire Rosamund
Claire Giselle
Claire EugenieEvangeline Claire
Liliana Claire
Madeleine Claire
Artemisia Claire
Naomi Claire
Wilhelmina Claire
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aw man, jerky Claire sucks! Tell her to smarten up.Wilhelmina Claire is outstandingly pretty.
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I like the name Claire very much, and had a childhood friend so-named. The spelling I prefer is as above, Claire.
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Love love love. I don't think I've ever met one either. I agree with you-- it is very sweet and has a slight old-fashioned charm to it. I also think it's very light and clean and fresh and slightly flowery.I prefer Claire, but Clare isn't bad... just kinda placey. Clair is totally masculine to me. It's my grandpa's middle name and I also had a great-great uncle by that name. Thus if I used Claire, which I totally would, it would be to honor my grandfather.My favorite Claire combo is Claire Marguerite. As for real life use, I totally love your suggestion of Claire Marie from whenever ago.

This message was edited 3/16/2010, 9:55 AM

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I never realized that Clair was the masculine version, how nifty! Clare seems more masculine (I suppose because it reminds me of clarence).Claire Marguerite is lovely, and so of course is our Claire Maire :) Pink lemonade for all!
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I like Claire and I agree with you that it's very sweet and that I can't imagine a mean-spirited Claire.
I also like Klara which I have done for a few years. Klara is the most natural spelling to me (it's more Swedish) but Clara might work better in the US if you don't want that trendy-thing?
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I actually don't mind Klara either. I know that it's the proper Germanic/Scandinavian spelling, and I would be comfortable using it. I guess some people might imagine it's a trendy spelling, but I'd know the truth! :)
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I like Claire (this spelling) quite well. I've only known one. She was in my hs French class and thought she was hot stuff when she showed off her hickey received from a real Frenchman (er, French teenage boy) at a discotheque while on a school trip to France. Whoo hoo! I suppose I'll always associate Claire with the girl in my class. ;-)Anyway, I like Claire as a mn best but my dh greatly dislikes it for some reason so I've never had a chance to use it. I like Clara and Chiara too.
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gross!Ew, Frenchman-hickey Claire is not an image I want! Thanks for that ;)
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LOL, sorry, that's my baggage. Don't let it influence your vision because Claire is still a lovely name.
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I'm somewhat fond of Claire, though it does seem relatively common here. I strongly prefer trim and smart Clare.Claire Adamina
Claire Adeline
Claire Agnieszka
Claire Albertine
Claire Amabel
Claire Amandine
Claire Annette (I'm really liking Annette at the moment.)
Claire Antigone
Claire Antiope
Claire Antonia
Claire Antonina
Claire Apollonia
Claire Augusta
Claire Beatrice
Claire Beatrix
Claire Benjamina
Claire Benjamine
Claire Bernadette
Claire Capucine
Claire Cecilia
Claire Cecily
Claire Celestine
Claire Cesarina
Claire Constanza
Claire Corisande
Claire Cybele

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This message was edited 3/16/2010, 8:49 AM

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"Trim and smart" is the perfect way to describe Clare. Right on the nose!I like these:Claire Adeline
Claire Albertine - beautiful
Claire Antonina - Anotnina is wonderfully different
Claire Beatrice - so sweet and light
Claire Beatrix - Clare Beatrix would be super hip
Claire Demelza - I heart Demelza
Claire Donatienne - gorgeous
Claire Eloise - love this!
Claire Eulalie - I love how lilting this is
Claire Freesia - this is really fun
Claire Geraldine - Clara Geraldine would be so old-world beautiful
Claire Henrietta - wonderful!
Claire Hephzibah - adorable! Hephzibah seems so darling to me
Claire Ines / Inez - oh I love the flapper vibe I get from this one
Claire Isadora / Isidora - Clare Isidora is almost intoxicatingly ancient-sounding, I adore it.
Claire Ismene - I am intrigued by this.
Claire Jamesina - Clare Jamesina! Fantasical!

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I like Clare best. I like it - it seems classic, spunky, courageous, and kind.Clare Meredith
Clare Rosamund
Clare Josephine
Beatrice Clare
Eleanor Clare
Simone Clare
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Clare does seem like the most "spunky and courageous" of the spellings, doesn't it. It has a real strength to it. It kind of reminds me of other ancient, unsmiling, regally stoic names like Margaret or Hildegarde. In that way I suppose it makes it look quite modern and edgy, very hipster. I could totally see a Clare being something like... a nun with revolutionary ideas about religion and getting into lots of trouble, or a scientist. It's a very intellectual name.Clare Rosamund is very nice, as is Eleanor Clare.Thanks!
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It's pretty. I prefer the spelling Claire. I think Clara is better though.
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I like Clara a lot too. It seems more serious, doesn't it.
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Too me Clara seems younger.
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I like Claire, it reminds me of The Breakfast Club.
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I know this is probably blasphemous, but I've never seen The Breakfast Club. I've actually only seen one Molly Ringwald movie in my life. Sixteen Candles I think. Molly Claire would be a pretty name, wouldn't it? She sounds super nice.
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'Tis blasphemous, but Molly Claire sounds very nice,
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