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

LeClaire, 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 LeClaire surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of LeClaire in America

LeClaire is the 11355th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The LeClaire surname appeared 2,778 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname LeClaire.

We can also compare 2010 data for LeClaire 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.

The history of the last name LeClaire

The surname LECLAIRE originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French words "le" meaning "the" and "clair" meaning "clear" or "bright". The name likely referred to someone who lived near a clear or bright body of water, such as a stream or lake.

LECLAIRE was initially found in the northern regions of France, particularly in Normandy and Picardy. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Le Clair" in the 12th century. Over time, various spelling variations emerged, including Le Cler, Le Clere, and Le Claire.

One of the earliest known references to the LECLAIRE surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is recorded as "Le Cler" in this document.

In the 13th century, a notable figure with the LECLAIRE surname was Guillaume Le Cler, a French monk and scholar who lived from around 1225 to 1292. He was renowned for his work on medieval astronomy and mathematics.

During the 16th century, Jean Le Cler (1557-1633) was a French Protestant theologian and biblical scholar who made significant contributions to the study of the Hebrew Bible.

Another prominent individual with the LECLAIRE surname was Claude Le Cler (1618-1685), a French Jesuit priest and historian who wrote extensively about the history of the Catholic Church.

In the 18th century, Jean-Baptiste Le Cler (1715-1795) was a French architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Sulpice.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the LECLAIRE name in North America was in the 17th century, when a family with the surname settled in the French colony of Quebec.

Over the centuries, the LECLAIRE surname has been associated with various place names in France, such as Leclaire, a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department, and Le Clair, a commune in the Ardennes department.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name LeClaire

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

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 LeClaire was:

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 LeClaire has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 LeClaire was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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