Claymore last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Claymore is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Claymore.

Meaning of Claymore

A Scottish surname derived from the Scottish Gaelic claidheamh mòr meaning "broadsword".

Claymore, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Claymore surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Claymore in America

Claymore is the 72332nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Claymore surname appeared 269 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Claymore.

We can also compare 2010 data for Claymore to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 72332 73659 -1.82%
Count 269 245 9.34%
Proportion per 100k 0.09 0.09 0.00%

The history of the last name Claymore

The surname Claymore has its origins in Scotland, where it first appeared in the 14th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "claidheamh" and "mor", meaning "great sword". This refers to the two-handed Scottish sword used in medieval times, which was known as the claymore.

The name is believed to have originated in the Highlands of Scotland, particularly in the areas around Inverness and the Isle of Skye. The earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in various Scottish clan records and manuscripts from the 14th and 15th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Claymore was Sir John Claymore, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. Sir John was renowned for his skill with the claymore sword in battle.

Another notable figure in the history of the Claymore surname was Duncan Claymore, a 16th-century Scottish nobleman and chief of the Clan Claymore. He was involved in the conflicts between the Scottish clans and the English during the reign of Queen Mary I of Scotland.

In the 17th century, the Claymore surname appeared in various records of the Scottish Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement that played a significant role in the religious and political struggles of that time. One such individual was Alexander Claymore, a Covenanter minister who was persecuted for his beliefs.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Claymore surname spread beyond Scotland as members of the clan immigrated to other parts of the British Isles and to the Americas. Notable individuals with the surname during this period include William Claymore, an 18th-century Scottish-American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War, and James Claymore, a 19th-century Scottish-Canadian explorer and surveyor who helped map the Canadian Rockies.

Throughout its history, the Claymore surname has been associated with Scottish martial traditions, clan loyalties, and the struggles for independence and religious freedom in Scotland. It remains a proud symbol of Scottish heritage and identity.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Claymore

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Claymore.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Claymore was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 27.51% 74
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 62.08% 167
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 8.18% 22
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Claymore has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 27.51% 36.33% -27.63%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 62.08% 55.51% 11.17%
Two or More Races 8.18% 6.94% 16.40%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Claymore was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Claymore, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Claymore last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 14, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/claymore-surname-popularity/.

"Claymore last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/claymore-surname-popularity/. Accessed 14 October, 2024

Claymore last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/claymore-surname-popularity/.

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