How do you pronounce Clara?

Girl Names
1

Being American, I pronounce [name]Claire[/name] sort of like Clayr. I personally pronounce [name]Clara[/name], Cla-rah with the first a sounding like the a in [name]Harris[/name]. I am afraid it will be pronounced Clayr-ah. What do you think?

I am trying to decide whether to keep it on our short(er) list. I have already removed [name]Violet[/name], since the more I said it, the less I liked it for my child. Everyone’s input has helped so much!

Now we have:

[name]Marie[/name]
[name]Anna[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] (He-leh-na)
[name]Vera[/name]
[name]Rose[/name]/[name]Rosemarie[/name]
[name]Clara[/name]?

2

In Australia, we pronounce it “Clar-ah”…the first part rhyming with Car…if you know what I mean.

3

I pronounce it as I do my own name, but with an “uh” at the end: “[name]Claire[/name] (ryhmes with air) + uh”.

I love the name, and would use it in a heart beat if my name weren’t [name]Claire[/name]!

4

I pronounce [name]Clara[/name] with a long a, like [name]Claire[/name]-ah. I have lived in FL, [name]CA[/name], and now NC and all of the Claras I’ve known have pronounced it this way. I think Cla-rah with a short a is more of the European way to say it?

I love all of the names on your list! I don’t think you can go wrong here, if that helps.

5

I pronounce [name]Claire[/name] and [name]Clara[/name] the same, that being said I also pronounce [name]Harris[/name] with the same ‘air’ sound as [name]Claire[/name]… The only other pronunciation I’ve heard for [name]Clara[/name] is more like Klah-ruh with an [name]Ah[/name] sound close to the pronunciation of ‘are’? Is that the pronunciation you’re going for?

6

I pronounce it the way I believe most Americans do, at least in my experience: clar-(as in “air”)UH. I’m on the [name]Pacific[/name] [name]West[/name]-Coast if you want to get specific on regional accents. Not really sure how you’re pronouncing it, but if it sounds like [name]Harris[/name] it has that “air” sound to me? Are you wanting the British “are” sound? Clar(as in “are”)-UH? BTW, I have no idea if that’s really the way Brits say it, just going by the way they say it on [name]Doctor[/name] Who, which is with the “are” sound. [name]Both[/name] are very pretty.

[name]Clara[/name] is such a sweet name, I love it. All of your names are very sweet and feminine in an understated way. Great names. Have fun choosing the one!

7

I pronounce it somewhere between [name]Claire[/name]-uh and Clah-ruh (how you pronounce it.) I can definitely see pronunciation issues arising, but don’t let that stop you if you really love it. I like [name]Anna[/name] and [name]Vera[/name] best from your list, though.

8

I would use this pronouciation

9

This is how I say it, too.

10

I pronounced it KLAH-ruh.

11

I pronounce it the American way, Clayr-uh. I wish I could train myself to say it Klah-ruh (since it sounds so much more attractive in my mind) but alas, it would get funny looks here.

13

This is my daughters middle name. We pronounce it Klah-rah, with the Klah- rhyming with car (kind of, you know what I mean).

14

I think both ways are pretty, but I wouldn’t force a pronunciation that wasn’t common to the region.

As in, if you live in [name]America[/name] I wouldn’t correct people if they said [name]Claire[/name]-uh (rhyming with chair), and if you live in Australia/[name]Britain[/name]/etc. I wouldn’t correct people if they said Clar-uh (rhyming with car).

I really don’t think pronunciation is going to be an issue with that name, as it’s very well recognized everywhere in the English speaking world.

I do like it the best of all the names on your list.

15

I’ve only ever heard it pronounced claire-uh.

16

I have only ever heard pinkballerina’s pronunciation, and I’m American.

17

It’s Clah-ruh for me.