Clare (surname)


Clare is a surname of English or Irish origin. The name is most often derived from the titular de Clare first held by Richard fitz Gilbert, a Welsh lord from a Norman family, who took it from Clare, Suffolk. The name is also prevalent among families of Irish origin, both from de Clare and from etymologically unrelated place names such as Clare County, Clare Island and River Clare in Ireland which attests to a long historical relationship with those places.

Notable people with the surname Clare