Clarice

Clarice is a feminine given name of Latin origin. It is often considered to derive from the Latin clarus, meaning bright, clear, or famous, and has been used across various Romance and English-speaking cultures. The spelling Clarice is particularly common in Italian contexts, while Clare and Clara are common English variants. The name has appeared in literature and media since at least the 18th century and remains in use in modern times, though it is relatively uncommon today.

Notable people and characters with the name include Clarice Lispector (1920–1977), a Brazilian novelist acclaimed for works such as The Hour of the Star; Clarice Cliff (1899–1972), an English ceramic designer known for modernist, Art Deco pottery in the 1920s and 1930s; and Clarice Starling, a fictional FBI trainee and later agent in Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs, popularized by the 1991 film adaptation. The name also appears in popular culture as Clarice, a doe character in the 1964 Rankin/Bass television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

In usage, Clarice has appeared in various countries, with some families adopting it for girls in the early to mid-20th century; in contemporary times, it is less common, though it remains recognizable due to its literary and media associations.