Meaning & Origin
A male given name from Latin.
Claude is a boy's and girl's baby name of Latin origin, from the Roman family name Claudius, derived from the Latin claudus meaning 'lame' or 'limping.' Despite this literal meaning, the name has been associated with French elegance and artistic refinement for centuries.
Claude Monet — founder of French Impressionism and painter of the Water Lilies series — is the name's most luminous bearer. Claude Debussy gave it musical grandeur. In France, Claude is used for both men and women. It carries a distinctly French intellectual quality that feels both classic and slightly underused in the English-speaking world.