Stclair
From French origin, meaning "holy light" or "bright saint".
Name Census estimates that about 32 living Americans carry the first name Stclair. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Stclair today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stclair births was 1922 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stclair. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Stclair is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Stclairs were born before 1966.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Stclair. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
32
~ 1 in 10,711,073 Americans
Peak year
1922
16 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1994 SSA rank
#10,054
Tracked since 1895
Census
Stclair in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 324 people with the first name Stclair, which placed it at #27,953 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#27,953
National first-name rank
People counted
324
324 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
74.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stclair
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stclair is Black at 74.1%. The next largest groups are White (17.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Stclair 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Stclair at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.1% · 240
- White17.6% · 57
- Two or more races4.6% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Stclair: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stclair from the 1890s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 105 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Stclair by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Stclair during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Stclairs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Stclair
The given name Stclair has its roots in the French language and culture, originating as a place name from the ancient Roman era. It is derived from the Latin phrase "sanctus clarus," which translates to "holy light" or "holy clarity." This name was initially used to refer to a town or settlement located near a prominent river or body of water, often associated with religious or spiritual significance.
During the Middle Ages, the name Stclair gained popularity among the noble and aristocratic families of France. As a place name, it was frequently adopted as a surname by those who hailed from or held lands in the region bearing this moniker. Over time, it transitioned into a given name, reflecting the prestige and distinction associated with its origins.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Stclair as a personal name can be found in the chronicles of the Crusades, where a knight named Stclair de Montfort was mentioned for his bravery and valor during the Third Crusade in the late 12th century. This historical reference provides an early glimpse into the use of Stclair as a first name among the European nobility.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Stclair. In the 16th century, Stclair de Cosne was a French philosopher and theologian renowned for his influential work on moral philosophy. A century later, Stclair Deville (1818-1881) was a pioneering French chemist who made significant contributions to the fields of metallurgy and the study of high temperatures.
In the realm of literature, Stclair McKelway (1905-1980) was an American writer and editor who worked for prestigious publications such as The New Yorker and Harper's Magazine. His literary works explored themes of social commentary and cultural critique.
Stclair Bourne (1934-2007) was a renowned British-American actor and director, known for his roles in iconic films like "Chariots of Fire" and his directorial work on the acclaimed television series "Upstairs, Downstairs."
Another notable figure bearing the name Stclair was Sir Stclair Soames (1897-1987), a British politician and diplomat who served as the last Governor-General of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) during the transition to majority rule in the late 1970s.
These individuals, spanning various fields and time periods, illustrate the enduring legacy and diverse backgrounds of those who have carried the given name Stclair throughout history.
People
Stclair + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stclair as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Stclair: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stclair?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 32 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stclair going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 10,711,073 US residents.
Is Stclair a common name?
We classify Stclair as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 246 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stclair most popular?
The single biggest year for Stclair was 1922, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stclair is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Stclair in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 324 people with the name Stclair, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,953 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Stclair in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Stclair?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Stclair leans strongly male. 304 people counted with this name were male (93.8%), compared with 20 female bearers (6.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Stclair?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stclair is Black at 74.1%. The next largest groups are White (17.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Stclair most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Stclair in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.1% (240 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Stclair in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Stclair a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Stclair in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Stclair still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Stclair in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Stclair can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Stclair?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.