Girls' name · since 1880
Claire
Claire has 211,919 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2016 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #186 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #68 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 211,919
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Yes -- Claire is the #68 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 211,919 recorded since 1880.
Claire has 211,919 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #68 as of the latest data, more common than 99.6% of girls, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #186 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #68 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 211,919 born since 1880
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Claire ranks #186 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #68 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 211,919 born since 1880, peaking in the 2010s.
- #186 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #68 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 211,919
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Claire's 211,919 recorded births place it above 99.74% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Claire compares
211,919 Top 2% higher than 98% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Claire's all-time total is 564x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Claire | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 211,919 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 5,216 | 21 | 19,840 |
Claire's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Claire's full recorded timeline at 1953, 76% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 24% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1880, with just 21 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2016 peak of 5,216 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Claire popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2016)
- 5,216
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Currently ranks #68 among girls.
211,919 total births across 146 years of SSA records. Peaked in 2016 with 5,216 births in a single year.
Claire popularity over time - boys
2,204 total births recorded since 1885 (Claire as boys' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The boys' variant of Claire accounts for 1% of total recorded use across both genders.
Claire by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (47,728 births, 23% of the file).
2010s was Claire's strongest decade.
47,728 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Claire births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 448
1880s
448 births
- 1890s 1,013
1890s
1,013 births
- 1900s 1,858
1900s
1,858 births
- 1910s 6,705
1910s
6,705 births
- 1920s 14,994
1920s
14,994 births
- 1930s 12,639
1930s
12,639 births
- 1940s 10,261
1940s
10,261 births
- 1950s 10,262
1950s
10,262 births
- 1960s 5,944
1960s
5,944 births
- 1970s 3,943
1970s
3,943 births
- 1980s 10,844
1980s
10,844 births
- 1990s
1990s
25,326 births
- 2000s
2000s
39,009 births
- 2010s
2010s
47,728 births
- 2020s
2020s
20,945 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 47,728 births (23% of all-time use).
Claire decade highlights
- Peak decade 47,728 births
- Runner-up 39,009 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
How Claire compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Claire's total volume
Claire by state
Where Claire concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 19,359 | 9.1% |
| #2 | New York | | 18,721 | 8.8% |
| #3 | Massachusetts | | 14,019 | 6.6% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 12,097 | 5.7% |
| #5 | Texas | | 11,774 | 5.6% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 9,439 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 8,567 | 4.0% |
| #8 | New Jersey | | 8,214 | 3.9% |
19,359 of 211,919 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- California 9.1% of nationwide
- New York 8.8% of nationwide
- Massachusetts 6.6% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 5.7% of nationwide
- Texas 5.6% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
California accounts for 9.1% of all recorded births nationwide - a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Claire appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Claire? ▼
Where does Claire sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Claire most popular? ▼
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What to do with Claire's data
- Claire's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (47,728 total births) through the 2020s (20,945) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Claires (19,359 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Claire
Nearby Names Like Claire
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Claire
Compare Claire side by side: Claire vs Clara Claire vs Claudia Claire vs Clarissa
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Claire
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Claire: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2016)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Claire draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
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