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An excerpt from www.HouseOfNames.com archives copyright © 2000 - 2012
Origins Available: English, French-Alt, French, Irish Where did the French Clair family come from? What is the French Clair family crest and coat of arms? When did the Clair family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the Clair family history? The surname Clair comes from the French word "clair" meaning "bright," or "light." As such, the name was most likely originally a nickname for a cheerful individual, although some instances may have evolved from the personal name Clair.Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Clair, including Leclair, Leclaire, Leclaires, Leclère, Leclere, Leclères, Lecleres, Leclert, Lecler, le Clair, le Claire, le Claires, le Clère, le Clere, le Clères, le Clert, le Cler, Clair, Claire, Claires, Clère, Clere, Clères, Clert and many more. First found in Limousin, where this renowned family held a family seat from ancient times. This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Clair research. Another 138 words(10 lines of text) covering the years 1697, 1703, 1764, 1777, 1791, and 1793 are included under the topic Early Clair History in all our PDF Extended History products. Another 35 words(2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Clair Notables in all our PDF Extended History products. French settlers came early to North American, following in the wake of the explorers, and creating New France. Quebec City, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain is said to have been the first American site founded as a permanent settlement, rather than as just a commercial outpost. But emigration was slow, in 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 French people in Quebec, and by 1663, when the region was officially made The Royal Colony of New France, by Louis XIV, there still only around 500 settlers. Over 2,000 would arrive during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted immigrants, both noble and commoner from France. By 1675, there were around 7000 French in the colony, and by that same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Despite the loss of the Colony to England, the French people flourished in Lower Canada. Among settlers to North America of the Clair surname were Clair Settlers in the United States in the 18th Century
Clair Settlers in the United States in the 19th Century
Clair Settlers in the United States in the 20th Century
The Clair Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Clair Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname. This page was last modified on 24 August 2011 at 15:58. ©2000-2012 Swyrich Corporation. See Terms of Use for details. houseofnames.com is an internet property owned by Swyrich Corporation. Tools
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