Claretta
Feminine name from the Latin "clarus" meaning "bright" or "clear".
Name Census estimates that about 329 living Americans carry the first name Claretta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Claretta today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Claretta births was 1943 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Claretta. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Claretta is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clarettas were born before 1963.
People living today
329
~ 1 in 1,041,806 Americans
Peak year
1943
30 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1982 SSA rank
#10,810
Tracked since 1902
Popularity
Claretta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Claretta from the 1900s through to the 1980s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 202 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Claretta by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Claretta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Clarettas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Claretta
The name Claretta is a feminine given name of Italian origin, derived from the Latin name Clareta, which itself is a diminutive form of the name Clara. The name Clara comes from the Latin word "clarus," meaning "bright" or "clear." The earliest recorded use of the name Claretta dates back to the 13th century in Italy.
During the Middle Ages, the name Claretta was particularly popular among Italian noble families. One notable historical figure who bore this name was Claretta Petrucci (1466-1518), an Italian noblewoman and the wife of Pandolfo Petrucci, the lord of Siena. She played an influential role in the political and cultural life of Siena during the Renaissance period.
In the 16th century, Claretta Strozzi (1508-1567) was an Italian noblewoman and poet from Florence. She was known for her literary works and her participation in the intellectual circles of her time.
Another notable Claretta was Claretta Grivello (1745-1828), an Italian painter and engraver from Turin. She was renowned for her portraits and religious paintings, which were exhibited in various Italian cities.
In the 19th century, Claretta Michelangeli (1843-1919) was an Italian opera singer and vocal teacher. She performed in several prestigious opera houses across Europe and was highly regarded for her interpretations of Verdi's works.
Claretta Petacci (1912-1945) was an Italian aristocrat and the mistress of Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy. She was executed alongside Mussolini in 1945 during the final days of World War II.
While the name Claretta has its roots in Italian history and culture, it has also been used in other parts of the world over time, though its usage has remained relatively limited compared to other Italian names.
People
Claretta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Claretta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Claretta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Claretta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 329 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Claretta going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,041,806 US residents.
Is Claretta a common name?
We classify Claretta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 924 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Claretta most popular?
The single biggest year for Claretta was 1943, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Claretta is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Claretta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Claretta in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.