It couldn't be shortened to
Clare in most countries. The North American dialects are almost unique in pronouncing the first 'a' in -ara names as 'air', eg
Sara as SAIR-uh,
Tara as TAIR-uh etc.
Everywhere else, that first 'a' is pronounced 'ah'. SAH-ra, TAH-ra, CLAH-ra.
This message was edited 10/20/2013, 1:14 AM