Claude

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Gould in GB United Kingdom.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 12 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◐

Claude is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name744K records spelled Claude30 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia

  Languages: English, German, Dutch

  Also written Clàude, Claude', Claudé, Claudè, Cläudę

• a separate given name20K records spelled Claude3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India

  Also written Claudé

• Polish given name4.6K records spelled Claude16 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, United States, Czechia, Slovakia

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Croatian

  Also written Klod, Клод

• Russian given name2.0K records spelled Claude26 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Ukraine, United States, Switzerland

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Клавдий, Клавдій, Klavdii, Клавдии, Клод

87 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●

Claude 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.

• French: from the Latin name Claudius, an old Roman family name derived from the byname Claudus ‘lame’. It was borne by various early saints, but its popularity in France is largely due to the fame of the 7th-century St Claude of Besancon. In France, Claude also occasionally occurs as a girl’s name.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In French, a Roman family name derived from daudus lame) which was popular as a result of having been borne by a yth-cent. saint, bishop of Besangon. Vars.: Claud, Claux, Clot. Clement

  as a name·The Oxford Names Companion - The definitive guide to Surnames, First Names, and Place Names of the British Isles

• In French, Du nom latin Claudius, dérivé de claudus « boiteux ».

  as a name·Dictionnaire des noms de famille du Canada français. Anthroponymie et généalogie. 2e édition

• In French, Du lat. Claudius, « boiteux »; prénom lié à une épreuve, à la mésentente du couple. Fête: 15 février (saint Claude).

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Origine latine, lié à Claudius; nom de famille romain signifiant « issu de la famille Claudius ».

  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●

• Claude Perraultb. 1613FRFrench architect and doctor of medicine (1613–1688)
• Alexis Clairautb. 1713FRnot in their usual nameFrench mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (*1713 – †1765)
• Rouget de Lisleb. 1760FRnot in their usual nameFrench army officer (1760-1836)
• Claude Bernardb. 1813FRFrench physiologist (1813-1878)
• Claude Debussyb. 1862FRFrench classical composer (1862–1918)
• Claude Lévi-Straussb. 1908FRFrench anthropologist and ethnologist (1908–2009)
• Claude Simonb. 1913FRFrench writer (1913–2005)
• Claude Cohen-Tannoudjib. 1933FRFrench physicist (1933-)
• Claude Françoisb. 1939FRFrench pop singer, songwriter and dancer (1939–1978)
• Claude Makéléléb. 1973CDFrench football manager (born 1973)

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 · 1,073 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Claude?

We estimate roughly 447 thousand people bear Claude (counting its spellings and scripts) across 8 countries in our records.

In which country does Claude have the most bearers?

We estimate about 412 thousand people bear Claude in France, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled claude.

Where is Claude most common?

Claude is densest in France, where the national register counts about 1 in 165 people carrying it.

How common is Claude compared with other names?

In France, Claude is the 18th most common given name of 711,207 given names recorded there.

Is Claude a male or female name?

Claude is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Claude mean?

Recorded meaning: From Latin Claudius, a Roman family name of uncertain origin; used also for women in French.