Clarice
Torn between Clarice and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
from medieval Clarice, through Latin Claritia and Clara, "clear, bright, famous"
The story
Clarice Lispector's son had a reasonable complaint: why did his mother write for adults and nothing for children? According to Lispector's account, Paulo's question prompted O mistério do coelho pensante, her first published children's book. Its rabbit, Joãozinho, thinks by twitching his nose and finds a way out of his cage when his food is missing. The grown-up reading aloud has work to do, too: Lispector leaves gaps for spoken explanations and questions for the listener. A mystery can become something a child and an adult make together. The name is medieval, with a line through Latin Claritia to Clara, whose meanings include clear, bright and famous. The literary association gives that brightness an appealing complication. Here is a Clarice who makes room for unanswered questions, and a book that began because she listened to one.
Clarice's name family
One shared root links 6 names across 2 languages.
Shared root: from Latin clarus "clear, bright, famous", sainted by Clare of Assisi
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Clarice around the world?
In the United States, 249 babies were named Clarice between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 83,134 people in Brazil were named Clarice, the 369th most common name, with a median age of 44.
Clarice is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, South Australia, Argentina, Austria, England and Wales and Spain.
United States
1 in 88,000
In the United States, 249 babies were named Clarice between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Clarice peaked in the 1890s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 2,400
At the 2022 census, 83,134 people in Brazil were named Clarice, the 369th most common name, with a median age of 44.
Among people named Clarice living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 6,638 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Clarice in 2017.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Argentina
1 in 66,000
In Argentina, 10 newborns were given the name Clarice in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Clarice was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
England and Wales
1 in 150,000
In England and Wales, 4 girls named Clarice were born in 2025, ranked 4,867th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Spain
1 in 420,000
In Spain, 108 residents are named Clarice, ranked 7,297th among women, with a mean age of 38.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Canada
last on record 2022
Clarice is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
France
last on record 2024
Clarice is not on the 2025 record for France, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Ireland
last on record 2003
Clarice is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Montevideo City
last on record 2006
Clarice is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 1930
Clarice is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Clarice
People given the name Clarice in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Clarice deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Clarice truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Clarice fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Clarice fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Clarice to your family’s tree →