Klaire
A feminine spelling variant of the French name Claire meaning "bright" or "clear".
Name Census estimates that about 1,738 living Americans carry the first name Klaire. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Klaire today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Klaire births was 2012 (103 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Klaire. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Klaire is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 197,212 Americans
Peak year
2012
103 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,672
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Klaire: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Klaire from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 824 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Klaire remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Klaire by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Klaire during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Klaires live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Klaire, while Virginia, Maryland, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Klaire
The name Klaire finds its origins in the Latin language, specifically deriving from the feminine form of the word "clarus," which means "bright" or "clear." This linguistic root can be traced back to ancient Roman times, with the name's earliest recorded use dating back to the 4th century CE.
In the early centuries of Christianity, the name Klaire gained popularity as it was adopted by several notable female saints and martyrs. One of the most famous bearers of this name was St. Clare of Assisi (1194-1253), the founder of the Order of Poor Ladies, known as the Poor Clares. Her devotion to a life of poverty and her close friendship with St. Francis of Assisi made her a revered figure in Catholic tradition.
Another notable figure in history who bore the name Klaire was Claire of Rimini (1283-1346), an Italian noblewoman and poet. She was celebrated for her work, known as "Rime," which was one of the earliest examples of Italian vernacular poetry written by a woman.
During the Middle Ages, the name Klaire continued to be used across Europe, particularly in France and England. One notable bearer was Claire of France (1325-1380), a French princess who was the daughter of King Philip VI and Queen Joan of Burgundy.
In the realm of literature, the name Klaire has been immortalized in several works. One example is the character of Claire Clairmont in Mary Shelley's novel "The Last Man," published in 1826. Clairmont was a writer and the stepsister of Mary Shelley, the author of "Frankenstein."
Another famous bearer of the name Klaire was the French actress Claire Bloom (born 1931), who gained international recognition for her performances in films such as "Limelight" (1952), "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" (1965), and "The Lime Tree Bower" (1962).
Throughout history, the name Klaire has been borne by numerous individuals across various fields, including the arts, literature, politics, and religion. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its connection to the ideals of brightness, clarity, and purity, as well as its deep-rooted linguistic and cultural heritage.
People
Klaire + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Klaire as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Klaire: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Klaire?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,738 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Klaire going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 197,212 US residents.
Is Klaire a common name?
We classify Klaire as "Rare". It ranks above 93.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,758 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Klaire most popular?
The single biggest year for Klaire was 2012, when 103 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Klaire is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Klaire a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Klaire in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.