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Clair History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Clair History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France-Alt
France
Ireland

The surname Clair comes from the French word "clair", which means "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 Claire.

Early Origins of the Clair family

The surname Clair was first found in Limousin, where this renowned family held a family seat from ancient times.

Very early on, the family established themselves in Périgord and Bordelais where they held lands and estates. Many members of this important family were recorded as participants in the French Revolution and in its resultant political forums.

Théodore François Joseph Leclaire was a member of the military who was promoted to the rank of Chief of Battalion of the 98th regiment in 1791, followed in 1793 by a promotion to Commander of Arms. He was also honoured by being admitted to the Legion of Honour.

Early History of the Clair family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Clair research. The years 1697, 1703, 1764 and 1777 are included under the topic Early Clair History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Clair Spelling Variations

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.

Early Notables of the Clair family

Notable amongst the family was

Théodore François Joseph Leclaire...
Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764) "the elder" was a French violinist and composer, who studied in Italy...
His younger brother was Jean-Marie Leclair (1703-1777) "the younger" was a composer...

Clair Ranking

In the United States, the name Clair is the 7,493^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Clair is ranked the 1,633^rd most popular surname with an estimated 3,673 people with that name. 2

Clair migration to the United States +

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 United States in the 18th Century

Casper Clair, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1748 3

Clair Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Clair, aged 36, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1849 3
John T Clair, who arrived in Mobile County, Ala in 1851 3
Louise Clair, aged 52, who immigrated to the United States from Paris, in 1898

Clair Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Chaudet Clair, aged 19, who settled in America from Vassieu, in 1903
Livinia Clair, aged 3, who immigrated to America from Portleven, in 1906
Louis Clair, aged 25, who landed in America from Paris, France, in 1907
Maxime Clair, aged 28, who landed in America from Paris, France, in 1907
Caroline Clair, aged 26, who immigrated to the United States from Rougemont le Chateau, France, in 1907
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Clair migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Clair Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Frances Clair, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Stately" in 1851
Miss Fanny Clair, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Stately" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 1st June 1851 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Clair (post 1700) +

Dick Clair (1931-1988), American television producer, actor and television and film writer
Jessica St Clair (b. 1977), American actress, writer, sketch comedian, and comedy improviser
Carl St Clair (b. 1952), American conductor
Alex St Clair (1941-2006), American musician
Ethlyne Clair (1904-1996), American actress
Eugene G. St. Clair (b. 1847), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan State House of Representatives from Marquette County 2nd District, 1891-92 5
Edward St. Clair, American Republican politician, Secretary of Illinois Republican Party, 1910 5
Donna St. Clair, American Republican politician, Candidate for West Virginia State House of Delegates from Fayette County, 1954, 1960 5
Clency C. St. Clair (1871-1957), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Idaho, 1912 5
Cecil T. St. Clair, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention from Wayne County 2nd District, 1961 5
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 5) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html