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Clare = neat and sweet and much, much better than Claire. I really couldn't say why! - but Claire is yellow for me too and Clare is a clear pale sky-blue.
Clara pronounced CLAH ra is lovely. I think I prefer it to Clare. I haven't seen any of them on children or in BAs, so don't think popularity is an issue.

The i in Claire introduces an unnecessary complication. Clare is neater and tidier and ready for action; Claire would sit in the shade and watch Clare get on with life.

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I quite like Clara but only in a German context. When I see it, I never "hear" in in English in my head.

I think the sound of the name is quite ugly regardless. But looks-wise... Clare or Claire are about equal in my books.
I like Clara a smidge more than Claire/Clare.

I love Clare! It's so much trimmer and more elegant than Claire.

I hate this spelling, and I prefer Claire by 1000%. Clare looks odd and slightly masculine.

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I don't think it's common at all. Claire is my niece's middle name, but she is the only baby I know with the name at all. I haven't met a baby or small child named Claire.

I love Clare with this spelling. It was my godmother's name, and it would have been my son's mn if he had been a girl.

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Clare or Claire? Clare because I have that emotional attachment, and I'd most likely use it as a mn. I don't mind the "i" spelling, and I'd consider Claire if I was thinking about using it as a fn. It can be frustrating to have a rare spelling of a popular name, imo.

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Clara or Clare, Claire and why? Clare, as above. I don't like CLAIR-uh, and that's what I'd get in the US.

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It's no Isabella or Sophia, but Claire is certainly more common than it used to be, and it looks like it's still climbing. I don't think it's too common, but YMMV.

the more appealing spelling

I prefer Claire. Clare looks incomplete and as though it should be pronounced "Cl-R/cl-ar, not Cl-air.

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Claire is in my PNL.

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And yeah, it is common, but not SUPER common.

I see both Clare and Claire as a buff/fawn colour because that's the colour of C for me.
I like Clare for its traditional English vibe but think Claire looks prettier. So Claire wins by a whisker, especially were I to use a French mn such as Isabelle or Mireille or Marguerite.
But I see the merit in Clare, especially teamed with with a traditional English name like Eleanor or Isabel or Margaret.
re Clara - a variety of tulip bulb is called "Dame Clara Butt" (after a British singer) pronounced clair-uh by mum, so that's how I say Clara. I quite like that pronunciation, but there seem to be so many competing pronunciations that I'm too confused to use Clara.

This message was edited 10/6/2012, 12:36 AM

I think Clare is perfectly fine though it doesn't get me excited much, in fact I find it rather dull. I had a best friend named Claire when I was a child so I only knew of that spelling until my teens.
I am impartial between the spellings, the "i" makes little to no difference in my opinion on the names
I would have to say Clara because the majority of the time I prefer names ending in "a" over their "-e" partners. And this is the same for Clara/Claire. I think Clara sounds more vibrant than plain Clare does.
As far as I am aware it is not getting too popular, at least not in the region that I live, I haven't heard it in years.