Clair

Clair: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“clear; bright”
Origin
French
Say it
KLAIR · 1 syllable
Used for
Both (26% girls, 74% boys since 1880)

From French Clair, related to Latin clarus 'clear, bright, famous'. In English it is often used as a variant of Claire or a short form of names containing Clair-.

How popular is Clair?

20249.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Clair in 202430

2024 rank#4,549 girls

Peak year1913

Total US babies since 188016,322

Clair is fading: recent use is about 60% of its level ten years before.

Names like Clair

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Clair questions

What does the name Clair mean?

Clair means "clear; bright". It comes from French. From French Clair, related to Latin clarus 'clear, bright, famous'. In English it is often used as a variant of Claire or a short form of names containing Clair-.

Is Clair a boy or girl name?

Clair is used for both: about 26% of US babies named Clair since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Clair?

30 US babies were named Clair in 2024. Its peak year was 1913.

How do you pronounce Clair?

Clair is usually pronounced KLAIR.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.