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

St. Clair, 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 St. Clair surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of St. Clair in America

St. Clair is the 75317th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The St. Clair surname appeared 256 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 St. Clair.

We can also compare 2010 data for St. Clair 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 St. Clair

The surname Saintclair originated in France during the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old French phrase "seint cler", meaning "holy clearing" or "holy meadow". This name is believed to have referred to a person who lived near a sacred clearing or meadow, possibly near a church or monastery.

The earliest recorded example of the Saintclair surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appeared as "Sancto Claro", a Latin variation of the French spelling.

During the 12th century, the Saintclair family gained prominence in Scotland, where they held lands in the county of Haddingtonshire. One of the earliest recorded members of this family was Sir William de Sancto Claro, who lived in the reign of King William the Lion (1165-1214).

In the 13th century, a branch of the Saintclair family settled in Normandy, France, where they adopted the spelling "Saint-Clair". This branch produced several notable individuals, including Eustache de Saint-Clair (c. 1240-1311), who served as a knight and military commander under King Philip IV of France.

Another prominent individual with the Saintclair surname was Sir Henry Sinclair (c. 1345-1400), a Scottish nobleman and explorer who is believed to have traveled to Greenland and possibly even North America in the late 14th century. He was descended from the Saintclair family of Haddingtonshire.

During the Renaissance period, the Saintclair surname was also associated with the arts. One notable figure was Arthur Saintclair (c. 1470-1540), an English poet and courtier who served under King Henry VIII.

In the 17th century, the Saintclair name gained recognition in France through the works of the writer and philosopher Étienne de Saintclair (1608-1684), who was known for his writings on moral philosophy and theology.

Other notable individuals with the Saintclair surname include the Canadian politician and judge James Saintclair (1822-1891), and the American businessman and philanthropist John Saintclair (1836-1917), who founded the Saintclair Foundation for the advancement of education.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name St. Clair

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

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

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

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