2000
#3,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,918
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.05
Uncommon Last name
Clary
Derived from the Latin word "clarus," meaning clear, bright, or famous.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,317 Americans carry the last name Clary. That puts it at #3,280 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,828 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clary 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Clary with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 27,828
Census rank
#3,280
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,741 bearers of the surname Clary in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3280th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clary, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clary
The surname Clary originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin word "clarus," meaning "bright" or "clear." The name likely referred to someone with a bright or clear complexion or personality.
In the 12th century, the name appeared in records from the town of Clary in the Somme department of northern France. This suggests that the surname may have initially been a locative name, denoting someone from the village of Clary.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Clarus in Huntingdonshire, England. This entry indicates that the name had spread to England by the late 11th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name was also documented in various forms, such as Clarius, Clericus, and Clarice. These variations likely arose from different regional pronunciations and spellings.
Notable individuals with the surname Clary include:
1. René Clary (1608-1690), a French Jesuit priest and theologian.
2. Jacques-François Clary (1725-1804), a French merchant and politician who served as a deputy in the Estates-General.
3. Désirée Clary (1777-1860), a French woman who was briefly engaged to Napoleon Bonaparte before marrying Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, the future King of Sweden and Norway.
4. John Clary (1792-1847), an American politician who served as the 18th Governor of Ohio from 1835 to 1837.
5. Martin Clary (1809-1884), an American pioneer and politician who served as the 11th Governor of Indiana from 1857 to 1861.
The surname Clary has been carried across various regions of Europe and beyond, reflecting the migration patterns of families over centuries. Its origins can be traced back to medieval France, where it emerged as a descriptive or locative name, ultimately becoming a distinctive part of many family lineages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clary
Among Census respondents with the surname Clary, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Clary 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 Clary surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 8,852
- Black or African American8.5% · 918
- Two or more races4.1% · 436
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 379
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 77
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clary
Clary 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
#3,241
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,139
+221 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 3.78
Rank movement Down 196 places
2020
#3,280
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,741
-398 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 3.59
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,045 | 10,918 | 4.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,241 | 11,139 | 3.78 | +221 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 196 places |
| 2020 | #3,280 | 10,741 | 3.59 | -398 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 39 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 Clary 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 | #3,241 | #3,280 | -1.2% |
| Count | 11,139 | 10,741 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.78 | 3.59 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clary bearers went from 11,139 to 10,741 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,241 to #3,280.
FAQ
Clary surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clary?
Name Census estimates that about 12,317 living Americans carry the surname Clary. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,828 residents.
How common is Clary?
Clary ranks #3,280 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.59 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,741 people with the surname Clary. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,317), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.59 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Clary.
Has Clary become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clary went from 11,139 recorded bearers to 10,741. That is a decrease of 398 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,241 to #3,280.
What does the Census say about the background of Clary?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clary, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Clary in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (8,852 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clary appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.4%), Black (8.5%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Clary (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 Clary mean?
Derived from the Latin word "clarus," meaning clear, bright, or famous. 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 Clary (3.59 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 have the last name Clary?
Find out how many people have the surname Clary on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.