[name]Claire[/name] a family name for me (grandmother’s name and mother’s middle name), and I’ve always really liked it. But there are two potential problems:
It seems like [name]Claire[/name] is getting too popular. Does it seem to be creeping up the popularity lists too fast right now? Is it going to lose its charm if it gets to be overused?
Most middle name combos sound really weird with [name]Claire[/name], since it’s only one syllable, and we’re having problems thinking of things that flow well with it. I’m also working with a one syllable last name, which makes things tricky. I’d like something classic–but also slightly offbeat to counteract the potential commonness of [name]Claire[/name]. Current ideas on the table are:
[name]Claire[/name] is one of my favorite names. But it is hard to find a middle name for it. I have tried.
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Alexandra[/name] - this is my favorite combo.
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Anastasia[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Angelina[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Antonia[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Dorothea[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] - this is very pretty, too.
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Isadora[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Julianna[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Leonora[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Melisande[/name] - I don’t know how to pronounce [name]Melisande[/name], but I think it would work.
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Olivia[/name] - very pretty!
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Penelope[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Winifred[/name]
Depending on the baby’s last name, I might add “a’s” to some of these beautiful names:
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Annabella[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Evangelina[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Florentina[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Gabriella[/name]
[name]Claire[/name] [name]Rosalia[/name]
For me, [name]Claire[/name] just sits there in her stately way at the beginning of the name and doesn’t want to move. If you add a four-syllable name with a rhythm that gallops, you can pull [name]Claire[/name] along with it. Then you get to the last name. Without knowing the last name, I can’t really say which middle name sounds the best to me.
As for the popularity issue–although [name]Claire[/name] has remained pretty popular, its spot near the bottom of the top 100 has been steady enough in recent years that I don’t think there’s going to be a huge takeoff. There’s been a slight upward trend, but I don’t think it’s enough to push it into the top 50. It should wear well–although there are a pretty good number of Claires, I don’t think anyone will associate a [name]Claire[/name] born today with any “[name]Claire[/name] boom” of the late 2000-aughts.