Clare Foster
There are approximately 16 people named Clare Foster living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 21,422,146 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Clare with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Foster. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
16
1 in 21,422,146
Named Clare
22K
Alive today
Named Foster
251K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 22K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1999
Average age: 37
Top Census group: White (88.4%)
Estimated bearers: 251K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #104
Per 100K: 73.21
Top ancestry: White (67.0%)
First name trend
Clare: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Clare. The peak year was 1999 with 512 births. The average person named Clare today is 37 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clare
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Clare, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 88.4%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Clare described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Clare at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White88.4% · 22,789
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 908
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 873
- Two or more races2.5% · 642
- Black or African American2.0% · 504
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 51
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Foster surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Foster, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 67.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Foster described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Foster at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White67.0% · 146,615
- Black or African American23.2% · 50,721
- Two or more races4.6% · 10,096
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 8,051
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1,767
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1,574
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Clare has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0064% of the US population, based on 22,065 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Clare right now.
The surname Foster appears at a rate of 73.21 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0732%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 16 people with the full name Clare Foster. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Clare
Related
Other people with the surname Foster
FAQ
Clare Foster: questions and answers
How many people are named Clare Foster?
We estimate approximately 16 people in the United States share the full name Clare Foster. That works out to about 1 in 21,422,146 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0064%) with the surname frequency (73.21 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Clare Foster?
We classify Clare Foster as "Very Rare". About 1 in 21,422,146 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Clare a male or female name?
Clare is predominantly female. Out of 34,225 total SSA registrations, 8.9% were male and 91.1% were female. See the full Clare profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Clare Foster?
Want to know how common the name Clare Foster is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.