girl's name
Chiara
kee-AH-rah
- Origin Italian
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 20,416
France
#179
2025 births
Chiara is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "bright" or "clear," the Italian form of Clare, and its saint is the patron of television. It ranks 179th in France and is falling in our data.
- Chiara is a name of Italian origin.
- Peaked in France in 2006, when 590 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,871 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1961.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Chiara over time
Births per decade in France, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 10 |
| 1970s | 40 |
| 1980s | 35 |
| 1990s | 585 |
| 2000s | 4,695 |
| 2010s | 3,630 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,875 |
What Chiara means
Chiara means bright, clear or luminous, from the Latin clarus. The same word gives clarity and declare, so the sense runs from brightness to being plainly understood along one line.
Where Chiara comes from
Chiara is the Italian form of Clara, from the Latin clarus, bright or clear. Its bearer is Chiara of Assisi — Clare in English — who left her family at eighteen in 1212 to follow Francis, founded the order that became the Poor Clares and was the first woman to write a monastic rule for women. Her patronage of television is real and comes from a specific story: too ill to attend Mass, she is said to have seen and heard it on the wall of her room, and Pius XII named her patron of the medium in 1958 on the strength of it. The name is unrelated to the Irish Ciara, which comes from ciar, dark — the two are opposite in meaning and are constantly confused because of the spelling.
Chiara in use
Chiara ranks 179th in France with about 315 births in 2025 and is falling in our data with a peak in 2006. Our records carry it from 1961, which places its French arrival with Italian migration. It reaches 584th in England and Wales and 1,067th in the United States. Clara and Claire are counted separately and rank far higher in most markets.
How popular is Chiara?
In 2025, Chiara was given to 315 babies in France, ranking #179 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Chiara is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Chiara
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Chiara also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Chiara over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Chiara in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Chiara
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Chiara — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Chiara
What does the name Chiara mean?
Chiara means "bright" or "clear," from the Latin clarus.
Is Chiara the same as Ciara?
No — and they are opposites. Ciara is Irish, from ciar meaning dark; Chiara is Italian for bright.
Why is Saint Clare the patron of television?
Too ill to attend Mass, she is said to have seen it on her wall. Pius XII named her patron of the medium in 1958.
How popular is Chiara?
179th in France and 584th in England and Wales.
Is Chiara a girl's or a boy's name?
Chiara is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Chiara?
Chiara has 2 syllables.
Is Chiara a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Chiara currently ranks #179 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.