girl's name
Claudia
KLAW-dee-uh
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 161,331
Northern Ireland
#505
2022 births
Claudia means lame, and it comes from one of Rome's most powerful families. The byname stuck to the whole clan regardless of who actually limped, and it charts in six of the seven markets we track.
- Claudia is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1952, when 3,383 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 15,139 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Claudia over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 626 |
| 1890s | 933 |
| 1900s | 1,205 |
| 1910s | 2,973 |
| 1920s | 3,839 |
| 1930s | 6,052 |
| 1940s | 19,256 |
| 1950s | 23,200 |
| 1960s | 10,043 |
| 1970s | 13,731 |
| 1980s | 13,994 |
| 1990s | 16,607 |
| 2000s | 11,225 |
| 2010s | 3,999 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,395 |
What Claudia means
Claudia means lame. The Latin claudus is the ordinary adjective for it, and the name identified a family rather than describing every individual who happened to carry it.
Where Claudia comes from
Claudia is the feminine of Claudius, a Roman gens name from claudus, lame — a byname that attached to an ancestor and then to everyone descended from him, which is how Roman family names generally worked. The Claudii produced consuls, the emperor Claudius and Appius Claudius, who built the Appian Way and the first Roman aqueduct. A Claudia is named in the second letter to Timothy, which gave the name its Christian currency. It is the parent of Claude, Claudine, Claudette and the French Claudia alike.
Claudia in use
Claudia peaked in the United States in 1952, when 3,383 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 535th in Ireland on 7 births, 658th in England and Wales on 58, 994th in Scotland, 1097th in the United States on 219 and 1253rd in France on 30, across 161,331 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. Ireland and England both rank it well above America.
How popular is Claudia?
In 2025, Claudia was given to 219 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Claudia is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Claudia
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Claudia also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Claudia over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Claudia
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Claudia 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 Claudia
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Claudia — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Claudia
What does the name Claudia mean?
Lame — from the Latin claudus, through the Roman family name Claudius.
Did everyone called Claudius have a limp?
No. The byname attached to an ancestor and passed to the whole family, as Roman names generally did.
Is Claudia in the Bible?
A Claudia is named in the second letter to Timothy, which gave the name Christian currency.
How popular is Claudia?
535th in Ireland and 658th in England and Wales, both well above the United States at 1097th.
Is Claudia a girl's or a boy's name?
Claudia is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Claudia?
Claudia has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Claudia?
Claudia is usually shortened to Claude.
Is Claudia a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Claudia currently ranks #535 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.