Maryclare
A feminine name combining the elements Mary (from the Hebrew name meaning "bitter" or "beloved") and Clare (meaning "bright" or "clear").
Name Census estimates that about 314 living Americans carry the first name Maryclare. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maryclare today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maryclare births was 1996 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maryclare. 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.
People living today
314
~ 1 in 1,091,574 Americans
Peak year
1996
14 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,769
Tracked since 1925
Census
Maryclare in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 819 people with the first name Maryclare, which placed it at #14,409 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,409
National first-name rank
People counted
819
819 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
90.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maryclare
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maryclare is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Maryclare described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Maryclare at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 738
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.9% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 23
- Two or more races1.3% · 11
- Black or African American0.9% · 7
Popularity
Maryclare: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maryclare from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 90 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maryclare 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 Maryclare during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maryclare
The given name Maryclare is a combination of the names Mary and Clare, both of which have distinct origins and histories.
The name Mary is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Miryam, which itself is likely derived from the Egyptian word "mr" meaning "beloved" or "love." The name Mary has its roots in the New Testament of the Bible, as it was the name of the mother of Jesus Christ. Mary was a common name among early Christians and has remained a popular name throughout history.
On the other hand, the name Clare is derived from the Latin name "Clarus," which means "bright" or "clear." The name became popular in the Middle Ages due to the fame of St. Clare of Assisi, who was a follower of St. Francis of Assisi and founded the Order of Poor Ladies, also known as the Poor Clares.
The combination of these two names, Maryclare, is not as common as its individual components, but it has been used throughout history. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Maryclare was Maryclare Davenport (1705-1784), an English writer and translator. Another notable Maryclare was Maryclare Byrne (1887-1979), an Irish novelist and playwright.
In the 19th century, Maryclare Doughty (1826-1892) was a prominent English artist and illustrator, known for her work in creating illustrations for books by authors such as Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. Maryclare Egleston (1853-1938) was an American author and educator who wrote several books on the history and culture of the American South.
More recently, Maryclare Acton Byrne (1925-2008) was an Irish composer and music educator who made significant contributions to the development of music education in Ireland. She composed numerous works for choirs and orchestras and was recognized for her efforts in promoting Irish music and culture.
While the name Maryclare is not as widespread as its individual components, it has a rich history and has been borne by several notable individuals throughout the centuries, reflecting the cultural and religious significance of the names Mary and Clare.
People
Maryclare + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maryclare as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maryclare: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maryclare?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 314 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maryclare 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 1,091,574 US residents.
Is Maryclare a common name?
We classify Maryclare as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 347 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maryclare most popular?
The single biggest year for Maryclare was 1996, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maryclare is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maryclare in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 819 people with the name Maryclare, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,409 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Maryclare in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Maryclare?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maryclare appears almost entirely female. Of the 819 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Maryclare?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maryclare is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Maryclare most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maryclare in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (738 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Maryclare in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maryclare a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maryclare 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.
Is Maryclare still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maryclare in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Maryclare can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have Maryclare as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.