Explore the Family Name Chiara

The meaning of Chiara

Italian: from the female personal name Chiara or Clara, a name popularized in the medieval period by the cult of Saint Clare of Assisi (c.1193–1253); she was an associate of Saint Francis of Assisi and founded the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares. See also Chiaro. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Marco, Amedeo, Angelo, Gino, Rocco.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Chiara in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Chiara has seen a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the surname ranked at 38,141 in terms of popularity, but dropped to 41,728 by 2010 -- a change of -9.4%. The total count of individuals with the Chiara surname also decreased during this period from 546 to 521, marking a decline of 4.58%. Similarly, the proportion of individuals with the Chiara surname per 100k people fell by 10% over the same time frame.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#38,141	#41,728	-9.4%
Count	546	521	-4.58%
Proportion per 100k	0.2	0.18	-10%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Chiara

In terms of ethnicity, the Chiara surname is primarily associated with White ethnic identity, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In both 2000 and 2010, over 91% of those with the surname identified as White. There was a small increase in the number of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, moving from 0% in 2000 to 1.73% in 2010. In contrast, the percentage identifying as Hispanic decreased significantly from 6.59% to 5.37% during the same period. There were no recorded instances of individuals with the surname Chiara identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	91.58%	91.55%	-0.03%
Hispanic	6.59%	5.37%	-18.51%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.73%	0%
Two or More Races	0.92%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%