Saintclair
From the French meaning "holy light" or "bright saint".
Name Census estimates that about 66 living Americans carry the first name Saintclair. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Saintclair today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saintclair births was 1950 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saintclair. 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
- • The typical person named Saintclair is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Saintclairs were born before 1964.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Saintclair. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
66
~ 1 in 5,193,248 Americans
Peak year
1950
13 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1979 SSA rank
#6,893
Tracked since 1940
Popularity
Saintclair: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saintclair from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 48 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saintclair 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 Saintclair during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Saintclairs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Saintclair
The name Saintclair has its origins in the French language and culture, dating back to the Middle Ages. It derives from the combination of the words "saint" (meaning holy or sacred) and "clair" (meaning clear or bright). The name is believed to have emerged during the 12th or 13th century, possibly as a reference to a location or a person associated with a particular place.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Saintclair can be found in historical documents from the 13th century, where it appears as a surname for noble families in France. It is thought that the name may have been adopted by these families as a way to express their devotion to the Christian faith and their desire to be associated with the virtues of clarity and purity.
Throughout history, the name Saintclair has been borne by several notable individuals. In the 14th century, Saintclair de Villeneuve was a French nobleman and military leader who fought in the Hundred Years' War against England. Another notable figure was Saintclair de Cordelle, a 16th-century French scholar and philosopher known for his works on ethics and moral philosophy.
In the realm of literature, Saintclair de Marville was an 18th-century French novelist and poet whose works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Additionally, Saintclair de Roussillon was a 19th-century French artist renowned for his landscape paintings and depictions of rural life.
Moving into the 20th century, Saintclair de Montfort was a French diplomat and statesman who played a significant role in negotiating peace treaties after World War I. He was born in 1875 and died in 1945.
It is worth noting that while the name Saintclair has its roots in the French language and culture, it has been adopted and used in various other contexts and regions throughout history. The name's association with virtues such as holiness, clarity, and purity has endured, making it a unique and meaningful choice for individuals across different cultures and time periods.
People
Saintclair + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saintclair as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Saintclair: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saintclair?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 66 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saintclair 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 5,193,248 US residents.
Is Saintclair a common name?
We classify Saintclair as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 97 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saintclair most popular?
The single biggest year for Saintclair was 1950, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saintclair is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Saintclair in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Saintclair a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Saintclair in the SSA data are male. 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 Saintclair still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Saintclair 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 Saintclair 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Saintclair?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.