21,332 Global Clare Family Members

Clare Family History

This most interesting and ancient surname, with its long association with the British nobility, has three possible origins. It may be Olde English and derive from the pre 8th century word 'cleare' which translates as 'bright or clear' and as such was applied to various rivers and a Manor in the county of Suffolk. A second possibility is French, from a place called Clere in Normandy and first recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book of England, whilst the third is baptismal from the French 'Claire' or the Latin 'Clara' which themselves translate as 'bright of fair'. The original spelling forms were Clere, Clarae, Clara, Clare, and Clair(e), however there is some confusion in that in the early days the surnames were almost always proceeded by the French preposition 'de', although by the 16th century its use had almost died out...