unisex name

Clair

  • Origin French
  • Gender Unisex
  • Syllables 1
  • Letters 5
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 18,359

Ireland

#602

2000 births

Clair is a unisex name with 1 syllable. It is given to both girls and boys — about 29% of recorded births with this name are girls. In 2025 it was given to 29 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Clair is a name of French origin.
  • Peaked in 1923, when 405 babies were given the name.
  • It has been falling over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 114,325 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • Clair started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
  • 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.

Clair over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

3,539
'80 '90 '00 '10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Clair by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1880s 166
1890s 352
1900s 489
1910s 2,458
1920s 3,539
1930s 2,609
1940s 1,862
1950s 1,437
1960s 776
1970s 405
1980s 542
1990s 578
2000s 528
2010s 443
2020s (to 2025) 167

How popular is Clair?

In 2025, Clair was given to 29 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Clair is used

Ireland #602 3 in 2000
Scotland #716 3 in 2002
Canada #2,284 9 in 2019
England & Wales #3,807 4 in 2002
United States #4,708 29 in 2025
France #6,105 5 in 2019

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Clair

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Clair also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Clair over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Clair

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Clair — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Clair

How popular is the name Clair?

In 2025, Clair was given to 29 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Clair a girl's or a boy's name?

Clair is used for both girls and boys. About 29% of recorded births with this name are girls.

How many syllables are in Clair?

Clair has 1 syllable.

When was Clair most popular?

Clair peaked in 1923, when 405 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.

Is Clair a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Clair currently ranks #4,708 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.

Was Clair originally a boys' or girls' name?

Clair was given mostly to boys in the earliest US birth records and is now given almost entirely to girls.