Clair

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 4 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Clair is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish name237K records spelled Clair6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Panama, Brazil, Mexico

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Claír, Ćlãīr, ́clair

• French surname31K records spelled Clair10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Canada, Philippines

  Also written Clarus, Clãïr, Çlâïr, Člâïr, Claïr

69 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Clair is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, director; pers. name, French

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, Rene, French film writer and

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In French, Du latin clarus, « clair, limpide, brillant ». Fête: 11 août (sainte Claire) pour la forme féminine apparentée.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Du latin clarus, « clair, illustre ».

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Latin clarus « clear, bright ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Wesley Clair Mitchellb. 1874USAmerican statistician (1874–1948)
• Clair Maxwellb. 1890USAmerican journalist
• René Clairb. 1898FRFrench filmmaker and writer (1898–1981)
• Clair Engleb. 1911USUnited States Senator from California (1959–1964)
• Clair Cameron Pattersonb. 1922USAmerican chemist and geochemist (1922–1995)
• Philippe Clairb. 1930FRFrench film director (1930-2020)
• Dick Clairb. 1931USactor, comedian, writer (1931-1988)
• Jean Clairb. 1940FRFrench journalist
• Cyrielle Clairb. 1955FRFrench actress
• Clair Norrisb. 1997GBEnglish actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 558 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Clair?

Our records include 684,975 bearers of Clair across 5 countries — a sample of the full distribution.

In which country does Clair have the most bearers?

Clair is most frequently recorded in the United States, where it is most often spelled clair.

What does the name Clair mean?

Recorded meaning: Voir Petitclerc.