2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Claitt
A variant spelling of the locational surname Clyde referring to someone from the River Clyde region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Claitt. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Claitt surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Claitt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Claitt, the largest self-reported group is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and White (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Claitt
The surname CLAITT is of Scottish origin, emerging in the medieval period around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "claett" or "clait," which referred to a clod or lump of earth or clay. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for someone who worked with clay or soil, such as a potter or farmer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name CLAITT can be found in the historical records of Berwickshire, a county in the Scottish Borders region. In a charter dated 1296, a certain "Willelmus Clait" is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Coldingham.
During the 14th century, variations of the name began to appear in various Scottish records, including "Clayt," "Clait," and "Cleit." In the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1359, a "Johannes Clait" is listed as a tenant farmer in the town of Linlithgow.
The CLAITT surname is also associated with the Clan Chattan, a powerful Scottish clan based in the Highlands. In the 15th century, a branch of the clan known as the Clachries or Clachries is believed to have adopted the surname CLAITT or a similar spelling.
Notable individuals with the surname CLAITT include:
1. Robert CLAITT (1572-1638), a Scottish merchant and burgess of Edinburgh who served as a baillie (magistrate) in the city during the early 17th century.
2. Isobel CLAITT (c. 1620-1692), a woman from Aberdeenshire who was accused of witchcraft during the Scottish witch trials. She was ultimately acquitted.
3. Alexander CLAITT (1687-1756), a Scottish minister and theologian who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1748.
4. James CLAITT (1777-1855), a Scottish soldier who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later immigrated to Canada, where he became a farmer and landowner.
5. Margaret CLAITT (1842-1912), a Scottish-born novelist and poet who wrote several works inspired by her homeland, including the novel "The Heather Glen."
While the CLAITT surname is relatively uncommon today, it remains a part of Scotland's rich historical tapestry, reflecting the country's linguistic heritage and the diverse occupations and roles of its people throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Claitt
Among Census respondents with the surname Claitt, the largest self-reported group is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and White (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Claitt bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Claitt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.4% · 102
- Two or more races7.6% · 9
- White2.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Claitt
Claitt appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+3 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,862 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-9 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,463 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 5,862 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 10,463 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Claitt surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #133,048 | #143,511 | -7.9% |
| Count | 127 | 118 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Claitt bearers went from 127 to 118 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 10,463 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #143,511.
FAQ
Claitt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Claitt?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Claitt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Claitt?
Claitt ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Claitt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Claitt.
Has Claitt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Claitt went from 127 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Claitt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Claitt, the largest self-reported group is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) and White (2.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Claitt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Claitt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (86.4%), Two or More Races (7.6%), White (2.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Claitt (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Claitt mean?
A variant spelling of the locational surname Clyde referring to someone from the River Clyde region. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Claitt (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Claitt?
See how many people have the surname Claitt on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.