My DH and I are seriously considering name our daughter [name_f]Clara[/name_f] (not sure of MN). The only hesitation is that his sister’s name is [name_u]Clare[/name_u]. I’m nervous about them being too similar. Thoughts?
Of course they are similar, they are the same name actually. Their only difference is a letter. But even if they are, what’s the problem? It’s not the end of the world
So I think it depends on what you’re worried about.
If you’re worried about causing confusion at family functions, I think the age difference between [name_f]Clara[/name_f] and [name_u]Clare[/name_u] will make it clear who is being talk to/about.
If you’re worried [name_u]Clare[/name_u] might think [name_f]Clara[/name_f] was named after her, I think this might happen but would that be a bad association? We picked the middle name [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] for our daughter and my sister in law who shares the same middle name (along with so many girls lol) thinks it’s a nod to her. And for my husband, it might be. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. But a middle name is much different than a first name. If it’s important to you that if you use it that sister-in-law knows the baby isn’t named after her, when you announce the name you can light heartedly mention [name_f]Clara[/name_f] had been on your list for years long before meeting your husband and you were so relieved he liked the name too.
If you’re worried sharing a name with a relative hampers your daughter’s individuality, that will depend on your personal philosophy. I don’t think relatives having similar names is a big deal at all. A child starts developing their own unique personality from birth, long before they can contextualize his/her own name.
My daughter was born 3 months after her cousin [name_f]Claire[/name_f] and [name_f]Clara[/name_f] had been our short list. At 3 months apart, I thought [name_f]Claire[/name_f] and [name_f]Clara[/name_f] would cause confusion, so we crossed [name_f]Clara[/name_f] off our list. But as we’re trying again, baby #2 would be at least 4 years apart from [name_f]Claire[/name_f], so we put [name_f]Clara[/name_f] back on the shortlist.
I think this depends how you’re pronouncing [name_f]Clara[/name_f]! I pronounce [name_f]Clara[/name_f] like Clar -uh (clar rhyming with car), in which case they sound fairly different. I know others pronounce it more like [name_u]Clare[/name_u]-uh, in which case it is very similar to [name_u]Clare[/name_u].
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you mind that? Would you mind if people (Including [name_u]Clare[/name_u] herself) thought [name_f]Clara[/name_f] was a nod to her? If you feel it’s too similar, then it might not be the right name. Otherwise, I think it’s fine 
I think if you’re pronouncing [name_f]Clara[/name_f] so that it rhymes with jar and not [name_u]Clare[/name_u] it should be fine, (if that makes sense). I think it’d be fine to name her [name_f]Clara[/name_f].
Where I am, [name_f]Clara[/name_f] and [name_u]Clare[/name_u] are pronounced differently (obviously the last letter is different regardless). I plan on using [name_u]Clare[/name_u] as a mn for our first DD, and [name_f]Clara[/name_f] is my #3 if I were to have three girls. I know it’s different being a first name, but I think it’s fine personally.
I agree, I don’t think it would be a problem. The age difference itself would alleviate the confusion.
I pronounce [name_f]Clara[/name_f] to rhyme with jar/car, so it’s fine for me.