2000
#10,773
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,718
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Leclaire
A French occupational surname referring to a person who worked as a clerk or secretary.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,985 Americans carry the last name Leclaire. That puts it at #11,553 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 114,826 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leclaire 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
3.0K
1 in 114,826
Census rank
#11,553
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,603 bearers of the surname Leclaire in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11553rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leclaire, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leclaire
Among Census respondents with the surname Leclaire, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Leclaire 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 Leclaire surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 2,174
- Two or more races5.5% · 143
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.5% · 118
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 30
- Black or African American1.1% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leclaire
Leclaire 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
#11,355
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,778
+60 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 582 places
2020
#11,553
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,603
-175 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 198 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,773 | 2,718 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,355 | 2,778 | 0.94 | +60 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 582 places |
| 2020 | #11,553 | 2,603 | 0.87 | -175 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 198 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 Leclaire 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 | #11,355 | #11,553 | -1.7% |
| Count | 2,778 | 2,603 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.87 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leclaire bearers went from 2,778 to 2,603 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 198 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,355 to #11,553.
FAQ
Leclaire surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leclaire?
Name Census estimates that about 2,985 living Americans carry the surname Leclaire. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 114,826 residents.
How common is Leclaire?
Leclaire ranks #11,553 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,603 people with the surname Leclaire. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,985), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Leclaire.
Has Leclaire become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leclaire went from 2,778 recorded bearers to 2,603. That is a decrease of 175 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,355 to #11,553.
What does the Census say about the background of Leclaire?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leclaire, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.5%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Leclaire in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (2,174 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leclaire appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Two or More Races (5.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (4.5%). 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 Leclaire (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 Leclaire mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a person who worked as a clerk or secretary. 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 Leclaire (0.87 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 Leclaire?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Leclaire, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.