Anonymous wrote:My grandpa's name was Clare although he was called by a nickname. I don't know how common that is though or if it was a man's name ever?

My father's name is Clair. Without the e it is a masculine name, although some people use it as a girl's name. He frequently gets mail addressed to Claire, but it doesn't bother him. I have a female cousin named Clare and she also gets the default Claire spelling from time to time.

When your child starts school - you will see people name their children and spell names in ways you would not imagine.

It is not that uncommon - and either way you will not find things with your daughter's name on it (mom of a Claire)

I prefer Claire, but if Clare's the family name, why not. I think it's common enough that while she may have to say "Claire no I", it's not like you're naming her Clayr or something.

Clare is the traditional Irish spelling and Catholic spelling for the county in Ireland and St. Clare of Assisi, a very popular Catholic saint. My daughter's name (age 2) is Mary Clare (double first name). Yes, sometimes people misspell her name, but my brother, sister and I all have the common Irish names with the generic spellings (Erin, Brian, Colleen) and you would be surprised how many times are names are spelled all sorts of cray ways!

Clare is the male spelling (not a common male name anymore though obv). I would go with Claire

Love Clare. Claire with an i just looks ditzy to me. I had a friend with the Clare spelling-- she just got used to saying Clare with no I.

My grandpa's name was Clare although he was called by a nickname. I don't know how common that is though or if it was a man's name ever?

It's a common variant of the name, so I don't think it's a big deal. Use the family spelling. It's no worse than being a Sarah-with-an-h or a Catherine-with-a-C or a Megan-without-an-h.

I prefer it with and "i", but that's probably because I'm used to seeing it that way. I think both spellings are very pretty. I'd go for the family spelling.

I think that there will probably be questions either way -- with names like Sara(h), Cla(i)r(e), Rach(a)el, Katherine (Catherine/Cathryn, etc) -- there are several ways to spell them that vary regionally and culturally as to which one predominates.

Having one of those names, I have gotten lots of questions over the years but it hasn't been a major hassle. If you want the family spelling, go for it.

My sister is named Catherine after my grandmother who was Catharine. My parents chose the easier spelling because our last name was ver hard to spell/pronounce so hey didn't want to add another degree of difficulty to her name. If you last name is Johnson, Clare would be fine. If harder, consider Claire.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I would go with family spelling. Isn't Clare a county in Ireland?

It's also the name of a saint.

Yes, I would go with family spelling. Isn't Clare a county in Ireland?

I think if Clare is your family spelling that is what you should use. Otherwise I would vote for Claire.

I have a traditional name using an uncommon spelling (also a family name) and I don't mind having to spell it.

?

I feel like the first one is more common and the default for the name, but Clare is our family spelling. Would our kid constantly be saying "It's Claire without the I" or am I over thinking this?