De Clare Name Origin
The family ultimately to become known as the de Clares were Normans and closely related to the dukes of Normandy. The current-day convention of having a forename and surname had not yet been conceived in the early 11th century and family members were identified by, amongst other things, who their father was (fitz = son of) or where they came from (de = from). Richard fitz Gilbert was therefore Richard, son of Gilbert. He was an influential Norman lord and is largely credited with the building of a castle on the River Stour close to Clare in Suffolk shortly after the conquest of 1066. It should be noted that there is no concrete evidence to suggest the town was called 'Clare' prior to the Norman conquest of 1066 but it was mentioned in the domesday book, completed in 1086 as 'Clare', 'Clere' and 'Clères'.
The domesday book also records a place that was part of the castle buildings as 'Clarette Hall', now called Claret Hall and the naming of that place suggests a French influence. ('ette' suffix suggesting 'little Clare'). This may indicate that Clare itself was named by the Normans at some point subsequent to the conquest of 1066. If that is correct, then it would follow that Clare had a different name prior to the conquest and the new name of Clare was transferred from somewhere in France that may have been important to the new Norman Baron, Richard fitz Gilbert or his family.
Richard fitz Gilbert was awarded significant amounts of land by William the Conqueror in Kent, Essex, Suffolk and Surrey. He married Rohese Giffard who originally came from a place close to the town of Clères in Normandy. They had several children, but one son, Gilbert fitz Richard I, inherited their lands. He was born around the time of the conquest and would have been about 20 by the time the domesday book was completed. He in turn married Adeliz, daughter of Hugo de Clarmonte (Hugo of Clermont). Whereas, no real hard evidence exists that connects Gilbert or Richard to an area in France that sounds like 'Clare', 'Clar', 'Clara' or 'Clere' there are two very strong connections through their spouses. Did either one have any influence over the naming of Clare? Certainly the town of Clères and its stream had been varyingly referred to as 'Clare', 'Clère, 'Clara', 'Clera', and 'Claire' and documents remain showing these names from 1050 onwards. However, we must assume these names were in common use for the town for a long time before the time of the first surviving recording and some people living in or near Clères would also have de Clères, de Clère, De Clare etc as an identifier. However, there is no documentary evidence to support this but it is fairly well accepted that Clar, Clere, Cleres would have been derived from the Latin 'Clara' or 'Clarus' and would have common usage as the present descriptive adjective 'clear'.
Despite the argument above, there is no documentary evidence to suggest that the name did actually transfer from France and it is entirely possible the town had been referred to as 'Clare' or something similar, prior to the Norman conquest. If this is the case it is very probable that the town also inherited the name from the Latin 'Clara' or 'Clarus' as a legacy of the English Roman period and held its name right through the Saxon era. 'Clara' or 'Clarus' was sometimes applied by Romans to stream names in both France and England as a descriptive adjective of the present day word 'clear'. There is no shortage of evidence of Roman activity in the area and it is believed that the road passing through Clare between Haverhill and Cavendish is Roman in origin.
In any event, records show that Richard fitz Gilbert was referred to after the conquest as 'Richard de Clare', but not before that period. This seems to have been an entirely new family identifier and it marked the beginning of the powerful and wealthy de Clare dynasty that shaped British and Irish fortunes for the next three hundred years and left a permanent mark on their histories. Whether the place name transferred from France or is a legacy of England's own Roman period, it is largely accepted that the family name 'de Clare' refers to the town of Clare in Suffolk. Also, from an etymological standpoint it is very likely that the word 'Clare' has its roots in the Latin 'Clarus' or 'Clara', the descriptive adjective of the modern English word 'Clear'.
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