How would you pronounce Clara?

[Thepotdog]

Thinking of Clara for baby girl due early next year however I saw online that a lot of people pronounce it Claire-ah , I’ve always thought of it as Clar-ah (pronounced like Cara but with an L) now I’m in 2 minds as I don’t want to burden her with a name that gets mispronounced all the time. Is it a regional thing how it’s pronounced?

My mum and dad would say Claire-a. They are in their 80s. Mum had an aunty Claire-a. I think it's an older generation thing and may have become Clara after Heidi.

Clar-ah

Clah rah

Clar rah

Love this name. I also associate it with Heidi book and tv show.

Until recently I had only come across one Clara who would now be in her 40's. She was Clair-a. When I knew her it was Clare/Claire that was popular.

Clah Ra

This

Klar-rah

Personally I would always pronounce it like you said, i.e. like Cara with an L. However I do know someone who pronounces it Claire-a, which was slightly awkward as I'd corresponded with her via email only for about a year and always imagined she was Clah-ra! I much prefer the former and the more "traditional" pronunciation.

I had a Yorkshire great great aunt who was a Clair-ah.

No, there are many irregularities in English pronunciation, and historically it was always correct in England to pronounce Clara as 'Claire-ah', Sara as Sarah, Maria as Mariah, Sophia as Soph-eye-ah... this changed after the middle of the 20th century, and I've a feeling kne of the influencing factors with the Clara pronunciation was fhe popularity of the 2980s Heidi TV series.
It's not correct to say that pronojncing it as 'Clare-ah' is incorrect- it may not be usual now, but it's the historically correct English pronunciation.

It's not more traditional in England... only in mainland Europe!

Clar like car.
a as in tap.

Sarah/Sara
Clara/Clara.

The only Dierdre I ever knew wasn't Dear-dra but Deer-dri.

Clair-ah is actually the traditional English pronunciation (source: I have spent a lot of time with aristocrats). It is consequently the usual pronunciation in America as it followed that tradition. In the UK, it has become more common to use the Claar-ah pronunciation - I think following Mitteleuropean influence. I know a few people named Clara, some pronounce it the traditional way, others the other. I often get it mixed up as a result!

It’s a very pretty name, but mix ups will likely happen.

I don't think you're going to have many pronunciation problems. The vast majority of the younger generation of British Claras will pronounce it as you suggest.

The Claira pronunciation is much older and more traditional in the UK, but almost extinct over here these days. I've only met one, probably in her 40s now.

The Clah-ra pronunciation is fairly recent in the UK. It used to be Clair-a.
it is getting popular. I prefer Cara.

Well, well, well - I would never have guessed Claire-ah was the traditional English pronunciation. It’s always been Clar-ah to me and that is still my preferred pronunciation.

Like Cara but with an L.

I prefer the Clair-a pronunciation, but it seems to have fallen from use.

Docs love interest in Back To The Future 3 was called 'Clare-ah' I remember it as it was the first time I had heard it pronounced that way.

I love the name Clara (rhyming with Lara), however I did have a great auntie Clara (Clair-ah) so it does pop up in the uk - we're in the north east.

An ex colleague was Claire-A she got it mispronounced all the time.

Most people say clah-ra

I had an Aunt Clara here in the UK, it was always pronounced Claire-a. I've never heard it pronounced to rhyme with Lara.

C lara

To complicate matters, though she's the only person I know who pronounces it this way, my colleague's calls her 2 year old Clara with a short a and an almost equal stress on both syllables!

Like the beginning of "clarify'. It rhymes exactly with the place name Barra.

And everyone, including me and her husband/Clara's father, who says CLAH-ruh to rhyme with Lara/Tara/Sara, gets a sharp intake of breath and daggers from her.

I have another colleague, Nicola, who is ni-KOLA (like coca-cola) and gets equally incandescent when we pronounce her name "incorrectly".

I'm wondering how little Clara will pronounce her name when she eventually starts saying it - clarra like her mum says or clah-ruh/a like the vast majority of people in contemporary England.