girls' name ★ peaked 2016

Claire

Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #68 Trend ↓ Falling 16%

Borrowed from French Claire, also a spelling variant of the English Clare.

Rank 2025
#68
among girls · ↓1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,487
named Claire · +4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 461
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2016
5,216 babies
All-time total
214,123
#186 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Claire popularity over time

214,123 babies have been named Claire since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 448 13 461 46 – #265
1890s 1,013 57 1,070 107 +132% #259
1900s 1,858 109 1,967 197 +84% #213
1910s 6,705 411 7,116 712 +262% #186
1920s 14,994 656 15,650 1,565 +120% #134
1930s 12,639 399 13,038 1,304 -17% #136
1940s 10,261 236 10,497 1,050 -19% #194
1950s 10,262 151 10,413 1,041 -1% #234
1960s 5,944 29 5,973 597 -43% #315
1970s 3,943 14 3,957 396 -34% #401
1980s 10,844 52 10,896 1,090 +175% #171
1990s 25,326 28 25,354 2,535 +133% #86
2000s 39,009 39 39,048 3,905 +54% #53
2010s 47,728 5 47,733 4,773 +22% #40
2020s (to 2025) 20,945 5 20,950 3,492 -27% #58

Where Claire is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 3,392 2.11 #70
2027 3,312 2.06 #74
2028 3,247 2.02 #74
2029 3,192 1.99 #76
2030 3,146 1.96 #78

Where Claire is most popular

Girls named Claire per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.11 per 1,000. Strongest in Wyoming, Maine, and District of Columbia.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Claire born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Wyoming 29 6.80 +223%
Maine 92 5.95 +182%
District of Columbia 70 5.91 +180%
Utah 456 5.48 +160%
North Dakota 68 5.17 +145%
South Dakota 73 5.11 +142%
New Hampshire 94 5.09 +141%
Idaho 152 4.54 +115%
Montana 58 4.28 +103%
Alaska 36 4.18 +98%
Massachusetts 495 4.09 +94%
Iowa 235 4.02 +91%
Connecticut 221 3.80 +80%
Kansas 219 3.80 +80%
Nebraska 136 3.78 +79%
Delaware 42 3.70 +76%
Minnesota 392 3.63 +72%
Rhode Island 45 3.59 +70%
Wisconsin 369 3.58 +70%
Michigan 640 3.51 +67%
West Virginia 90 3.43 +63%
Pennsylvania 763 3.23 +53%
Ohio 762 3.21 +52%
Indiana 443 3.16 +50%
Vermont 15 3.09 +47%
Virginia 518 3.04 +44%
Oregon 195 2.99 +42%
Washington 426 2.95 +40%
Missouri 350 2.90 +38%
Colorado 311 2.79 +32%
Maryland 293 2.77 +31%
Louisiana 242 2.76 +31%
Oklahoma 203 2.76 +31%
Arkansas 145 2.74 +30%
Illinois 622 2.72 +29%
North Carolina 609 2.67 +27%
Kentucky 228 2.67 +26%
New Jersey 474 2.63 +25%
South Carolina 223 2.48 +18%
New Mexico 57 2.34 +11%
Alabama 208 2.22 +5%
New York 848 2.14 ≈ national
Tennessee 337 2.13 ≈ national
Arizona 284 2.02 ≈ national
Nevada 93 2.00 -5%
Georgia 446 1.96 -7%
California 1,587 1.89 -10%
Florida 797 1.86 -12%
Texas 1,479 1.84 -13%
Hawaii 21 1.83 -13%
Mississippi 71 1.52 -28%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Claire

Claire is a top-100 name for girls in the United States, ranked #68 in 2025 with 3,487 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 214,123 American babies have been named Claire. Its peak came in 2016, when 5,216 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Claire stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Claire?

The median living Claire is about 19 years old; half are between 10 and 33. An estimated 171 thousand people named Claire are alive in the United States today.

median 19 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Claire year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 3,487 #68 – –
2024 3,337 #67 – –
2023 3,200 #68 – –
2022 3,380 #66 – –
2021 3,704 #59 5 #12,486
2020 3,837 #58 – –
2019 4,130 #55 – –
2018 4,406 #50 – –
2017 4,702 #49 5 #12,656
2016 5,216 #40 – –
2015 4,837 #49 – –
2014 5,015 #44 – –
2013 4,661 #50 – –
2012 4,944 #45 – –
2011 4,900 #50 – –
2010 4,917 #53 – –
2009 4,825 #53 7 #10,067
2008 4,601 #62 7 #10,062
2007 4,614 #66 7 #9,956
2006 4,013 #86 – –
2005 3,293 #95 7 #9,296
2004 3,333 #99 11 #6,601
2003 3,571 #92 – –
2002 3,406 #95 – –
2001 3,642 #82 – –
2000 3,711 #86 – –
1995 2,474 #129 – –
1990 1,855 #158 11 #4,722
1985 1,187 #220 5 #6,702
1980 567 #403 – –
1975 388 #475 9 #3,702
1970 341 #547 – –
1965 526 #403 – –
1960 899 #315 – –
1955 993 #273 8 #3,008
1950 1,038 #234 18 #1,756
1945 916 #211 20 #1,506
1940 950 #194 33 #1,162
1935 1,124 #171 39 #1,023
1930 1,654 #136 48 #980
1925 1,503 #159 66 #816
1920 1,019 #194 72 #786
1915 809 #204 51 #863
1910 274 #233 12 #939
1905 184 #232 19 #531
1900 156 #262 7 #1,066
1895 118 #259 – –
1890 72 #291 6 #906
1885 49 #284 8 #711
1880 21 #354 – –

Famous people named Claire

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Claire Danes Claire Danes American actor (born 1979) Contemporary
  2. 2 Claire Forlani Claire Forlani British actress (born 1971) Contemporary
  3. 3 Claire Foy Claire Foy British actress (born 1984) Contemporary
  4. 4 Claire Holt Claire Holt Australian actress (born 1988) Contemporary
  5. 5 Claire Bloom Claire Bloom English actress (born 1931) Contemporary
  6. 6 Claire Coffee Claire Coffee American actress (born 1980) Contemporary
  7. 7 Claire Trevor Claire Trevor American actress (1910–2000) Contemporary
  8. 8 Claire Denis Claire Denis French film director (born 1946) Contemporary
  9. 9 Claire McCaskill Claire McCaskill American politician (born 1953) Contemporary
  10. 10 Claire Williams Claire Williams Former deputy team principal of Williams F1 Team b. 1976 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Claire Lee Chennault Claire Lee Chennault American military aviator (1893–1958) 1890–1958 · 19th century
  12. 12 Claire Keim Claire Keim French actress and singer (born 1975) Contemporary
  13. 13 Claire Dodd Claire Dodd American actress (1911–1973) Contemporary
  14. 14 Claire Voisin Claire Voisin French mathematician b. 1962 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Claire Windsor Claire Windsor American actress (1892–1972) 19th century
  16. 16 Claire McDowell Claire McDowell American actress (1877–1966) 19th century
  17. 17 Claire Bretécher Claire Bretécher French cartoonist (1940–2020) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Claire, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Claire?

The median living Claire is about 19 years old. Half of all living Claires are between 10 and 33 years old.

How many people named Claire are alive today?

An estimated 171 thousand people named Claire are alive in the United States, based on 214,123 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Claire mean?

Borrowed from French Claire, also a spelling variant of the English Clare.

How popular is the name Claire in 2025?

Claire ranked #68 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 3,487 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Claire?

214,123 babies have been named Claire in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Claire most popular?

Claire peaked in 2016, when 5,216 newborns received the name.

Is Claire a boy or girl name?

Claire is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Claire rising or falling?

Claire is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Claire become more popular?

Claire is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,146 girls named Claire in 2030, which would rank around #78. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Claire?

Well-known people named Claire include Claire Danes (actor), Claire Forlani (actor), Claire Foy (actor).

Names like Claire

Names that sound and feel close to Claire: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Claire with similar names → More names starting with C →