Claire

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Claire

Gender: Feminine and Masculine
Language: French and English
Etymology:
Claire is the modern French form of Clare, the medieval French and English form of the Latin name Clara, feminine form of Clarus, a Latin name which means “Bright,” or “Illustrious,” or “Clear.”

History:
Clare, the original French form of Clara, was introduced to England by the Normans. A saints name, it never quite died away, although it never became common. It died out during the middle ages (at least, among the nobility) but was revived in the modern French spelling of C-l-a-i-r-e during the late 19th century as an alternate form of Clara. The name Clara was highly popular at this time.

As a male name, Claire is another form of the surname Clare, derived from Clara.

Please see Clara for more information.

Pronunciation: CLAIR.

Diminutives: Clarette.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Claire Rayner (f., 1931-)
British broadcaster.

Miscellaneous:
Claire McCardell (f., 1905-1958)
American fashion designer.

Singers and Entertainers:
Claire Luce (f. 1903-1989)
American actress.
Claire Bloom (f. 1931-)
English actress.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.061 % of females named Claire

0.001 % surnamed Claire

Popularity of Claire, for females:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880: 352nd most popular.
1881: 338th most popular.
1882: 323rd most popular.
1883: 287th most popular.
1884: 341st most popular.
1885: 283rd most popular.
1886: 265th most popular.
1887: 278th most popular.
1888: 270th most popular.
1889: 308th most popular.
1890: 291st most popular.
1891: 268th most popular.
1892: 292nd most popular.
1893: 277th most popular.
1894: 283rd most popular.
1895: 259th most popular.
1896: 283rd most popular.
1897: 275th most popular.
1898: 258th most popular.
1899: 260th most popular.
1900: 262nd most popular.
1901: 265th most popular.
1902: 244th most popular.
1903: 232nd most popular.
1904: 243rd most popular.
1905: 232nd most popular.
1906: 213th most popular.
1907: 230th most popular.
1908: 225th most popular.
1909: 218th most popular.
1910: 233rd most popular.
1911: 212th most popular.
1912: 212th most popular.
1913: 212th most popular.
1914: 218th most popular.
1915: 204th most popular.
1916: 208th most popular.
1917: 198th most popular.
1918: 186th most popular.
1919: 197th most popular.
1920: 195th most popular.
1921: 182nd most popular.
1922: 167th most popular.
1923: 167th most popular.
1924: 159th most popular.
1925: 158th most popular.
1926: 144th most popular.
1927: 136th most popular.
1928: 136th most popular.
1929: 135th most popular.
1930: 136th most popular.
1931: 139th most popular.
1932: 139th most popular.
1933: 144th most popular.
1934: 155th most popular.
1935: 171st most popular.
1936: 176th most popular.
1937: 191st most popular.
1938: 184th most popular.
1939: 189th most popular.
1940: 194th most popular.
1941: 196th most popular.
1942: 199th most popular.
1943: 207th most popular.
1944: 199th most popular.
1945: 212th most popular.
1946: 212th most popular.
1947: 216th most popular.
1948: 235th most popular.
1949: 226th most popular.
1950: 234th most popular.
1951: 239th most popular.
1952: 241st most popular.
1953: 245th most popular.
1954: 257th most popular.
1955: 273rd most popular.
1956: 277th most popular.
1957: 271st most popular.
1958: 288th most popular.
1959: 284th most popular.
1960: 315th most popular.
1961: 330th most popular.
1962: 329th most popular.
1963: 372nd most popular.
1964: 395th most popular.
1965: 404th most popular.
1966: 419th most popular.
1967: 480th most popular.
1968: 514th most popular.
1969: 502nd most popular.
1970: 545th most popular.
1971: 584th most popular.
1972: 584th most popular.
1973: 451st most popular.
1974: 483rd most popular.
1975: 476th most popular.
1976: 488th most popular.
1977: 429th most popular.
1978: 419th most popular.
1979: 402nd most popular.
1980: 405th most popular.
1981: 344th most popular.
1982: 300th most popular.
1983: 274th most popular.
1984: 254th most popular.
1985: 220th most popular.
1986: 198th most popular.
1987: 202nd most popular.
1988: 189th most popular.
1989: 171st most popular.
1990: 162nd most popular.
1991: 167th most popular.
1992: 156th most popular.
1993: 164th most popular.
1994: 146th most popular.
1995: 129th most popular.
1996: 116th most popular.
1997: 108th most popular.
1998: 93rd most popular.
1999: 87th most popular.
2000: 86th most popular.
2001: 82nd most popular.
2002: 95th most popular.
2003: 95th most popular.
2004: 98th most popular.

In France...
1900: 45th most popular.
1910: 57th most popular.
1920: 63rd most popular.
1930: 82nd most popular.
1940: 100th most popular.
1950: 89th most popular.
1960: 61st most popular.
1970: 47th most popular.
1980: 33rd most popular.
1990: 25th most popular.
2000: 45th most popular.

In Ireland...
1998: 38th most popular.
1999: 39th most popular.
2000: 41st most popular.
2001: 44th most popular.
2002: 54th most popular.
2003: 61st most popular.

Popularity of Claire, for males:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880-1884: N/A
1885: 700th most popular.
1886: 958th most popular.
1887-1889: N/A
1890: 884th most popular.
1891-1893: N/A
1894: 857th most popular.
1895: N/A
1896: 674th most popular.
1897: 787th most popular.
1898: 744th most popular.
1899: 613th most popular.
1900-1901: N/A
1902: 933rd most popular.
1903: 696th most popular.
1904: 966th most popular.
1905: 525th most popular.
1906: 797th most popular.
1907: 559th most popular.
1908: 743rd most popular.
1909: 950th most popular.
1910: 928th most popular.
1911: 894th most popular.
1912: 836th most popular.
1913: 788th most popular.
1914: 930th most popular.
1915: 864th most popular.
1916: 757th most popular.
1917: 799th most popular.
1918: 827th most popular.
1919: N/A
1920: 792nd most popular.
1921: 805th most popular.
1922: 837th most popular.
1923: 755th most popular.
1924: 818th most popular.
1925: 815th most popular.
1926: 965th most popular.
1927: 827th most popular.
1928: 837th most popular.
1929: 835th most popular.
1930: 977th most popular.
1931: 770th most popular.
1932-1933: N/A
1934: 952nd most popular.
1935: N/A
1936: 995th most popular.
1937-2004: N/A

Selected Sources:
A Dictionary of First Names, Hanks and Hodges, 1990
The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Withycombe, 1977, 3rd ed.
The Penguin Dictionary of First Names, Pickering, 1999
The Academy of St. Gabriel (www.s-gabriel.org) - For information on medieval names.

The Social Security Administration Actuarial Note 139 (www.ssa.gov) - For popularity stats 1880-Present
The 1880 U.S. Census- For popularity stats 1850-1880, and other information (it is available on-line at www.familysearch.org)
Central Statistics Office (http://www.cso.ie/) - for Irish stats.
Meilleurs Prenoms (http://www.meilleursprenoms.com/) for French stats.

The Guinness Book of Names, Dunkling, 1983, for British stats from 1700-1981
National Statistics Online (http://www.statistics.gov.uk) for British stats 2000+
Statistics Sweden (http://www.scb.se) for Swedish stats.
Baby Names (http://www.babynames.com.au) - for Australian stats.