Clarita
A feminine name meaning "bright" or "clear" in Spanish.
Name Census estimates that about 739 living Americans carry the first name Clarita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Clarita today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clarita births was 1932 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clarita. 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.
People living today
739
~ 1 in 463,808 Americans
Peak year
1932
31 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,399
Tracked since 1892
Census
Clarita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,563 people with the first name Clarita, which placed it at #6,292 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,292
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,563 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
56.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clarita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clarita is Asian/Pacific Islander at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.4%) and White (9.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Clarita described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Clarita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander56.5% · 1,449
- Hispanic or Latino26.4% · 676
- White9.6% · 246
- Black or African American5.6% · 144
- Two or more races1.2% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 16
Popularity
Clarita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clarita from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 182 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Clarita 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 Clarita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Claritas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Clarita
The name Clarita is a feminine given name derived from the Latin word "clarus," meaning "bright" or "clear." It has its origins in ancient Roman culture and is believed to have been used as a name during the Roman Empire era.
In the early centuries of Christianity, the name Clarita gained popularity as a name for girls born into Christian families. It was often chosen as a symbolic representation of the spiritual concept of inner light or clarity of faith.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Clarita can be found in the 6th century, when a Christian martyr named Clarita was canonized by the Catholic Church for her unwavering faith and sacrifice during the persecution of Christians in ancient Rome.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Clarita remained in use, particularly in regions influenced by Latin and Romance languages. In the 12th century, a notable figure named Clarita of Le Mans became known for her philanthropic work and dedication to helping the poor and destitute in France.
During the Renaissance period, the name Clarita gained further prominence. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Clarita Strozzi, an Italian Renaissance poet and writer born in 1492 in Florence. Her works and literary contributions earned her recognition among the intellectuals of her time.
In the 17th century, a Spanish nun named Clarita of Christ, born in 1629, gained recognition for her mystical visions and spiritual teachings. She was known for her devotion to the Catholic faith and her efforts to promote religious education.
Another notable figure with the name Clarita was Clarita Velazquez, a Mexican artist born in 1812, who was renowned for her intricate oil paintings depicting religious themes and traditional Mexican culture.
As the name Clarita spread across different cultures and regions, it evolved into various variations and spellings, such as Clara, Claire, and Chiara, while still retaining its connection to the concept of brightness and clarity.
People
Clarita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clarita 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
Clarita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clarita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 739 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clarita 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 463,808 US residents.
Is Clarita a common name?
We classify Clarita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,236 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clarita most popular?
The single biggest year for Clarita was 1932, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clarita is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Clarita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,563 people with the name Clarita, or 0.85 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,292 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Clarita in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Clarita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Clarita appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,559 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Clarita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clarita is Asian/Pacific Islander at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.4%) and White (9.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Clarita most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Clarita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.5% (1,449 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Clarita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Clarita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Clarita 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.
Is Clarita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Clarita in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Clarita can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have Clarita as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.