How popular is the baby name Claire in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Claire.

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Popularity of the baby name Claire


Posts that mention the name Claire

Popular and unique baby names in Alberta (Canada), 2022

Flag of Alberta
Flag of Alberta

Alberta, one of Canada’s three prairie provinces, shares a border with British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and the U.S. state of Montana.

Last year, Alberta welcomed 48,225 babies — over 24,000 boys and over 23,000 girls.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.

Here are Alberta’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 192 baby girls
  2. Sophia, 151
  3. Emma, 149
  4. Amelia, 133
  5. Harper, 125
  6. Charlotte, 117
  7. Ava, 115
  8. Isla, 101
  9. Lily, 100
  10. Chloe, 92
  11. Emily, 91 (tie)
  12. Isabella, 91 (tie)
  13. Abigail, 90
  14. Nora, 88
  15. Violet, 86
  16. Aria, 85
  17. Ivy, 83
  18. Mia, 82
  19. Hazel, 81 (tie)
  20. Zoey, 81 (tie)
  21. Ellie, 80 (3-way tie)
  22. Evelyn, 80 (3-way tie)
  23. Sophie, 80 (3-way tie)
  24. Ella, 79 (tie)
  25. Hannah, 79 (tie)
  26. Aurora, 75
  27. Willow, 74
  28. Eleanor, 73
  29. Scarlett, 72
  30. Elizabeth, 71 (tie)
  31. Mila, 71 (tie)
  32. Avery, 69
  33. Grace, 68
  34. Luna, 64
  35. Everly, 63
  36. Claire, 61 (tie)
  37. Maya, 61 (tie)
  38. Hailey, 60 (tie)
  39. Wren, 60 (tie)
  40. Alice, 58 (3-way tie)
  41. Isabelle, 58 (3-way tie)
  42. Madison, 58 (3-way tie)
  43. Emilia, 57 (3-way tie)
  44. Freya, 57 (3-way tie)
  45. Natalie, 57 (3-way tie)
  46. Ayla, 56
  47. Penelope, 53 (tie)
  48. Sadie, 53 (tie)
  49. Eliana, 51 (3-way tie)
  50. Nova, 51 (3-way tie)
  51. Quinn, 51 (3-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Noah, 229 baby boys
  2. Liam, 176
  3. Theodore, 173
  4. Oliver, 172
  5. Jack, 159
  6. William, 146
  7. Benjamin, 138 (tie)
  8. James, 138 (tie)
  9. Henry, 136
  10. Lucas, 135
  11. Ethan, 130
  12. Jackson, 121
  13. Leo, 114
  14. Levi, 113
  15. Logan, 109 (tie)
  16. Wyatt, 109 (tie)
  17. Muhammad, 106
  18. Owen, 100
  19. Adam, 97
  20. Luke, 96
  21. Bennett, 94 (tie)
  22. Maverick, 94 (tie)
  23. Asher, 93
  24. Alexander, 92 (tie)
  25. Nathan, 92 (tie)
  26. Caleb, 91 (3-way tie)
  27. Daniel, 91 (3-way tie)
  28. Elijah, 91 (3-way tie)
  29. Thomas, 90
  30. Carter, 85 (tie)
  31. Theo, 85 (tie)
  32. Gabriel, 82
  33. Jacob, 80
  34. Lincoln, 79
  35. Aiden, 76 (tie)
  36. Hudson, 76 (tie)
  37. Grayson, 75 (tie)
  38. Walker, 75 (tie)
  39. Emmett, 73 (tie)
  40. Isaac, 73 (tie)
  41. Cooper, 70 (3-way tie)
  42. Luca, 70 (3-way tie)
  43. Samuel, 70 (3-way tie)
  44. Jasper, 69 (tie)
  45. Mason, 69 (tie)
  46. Arthur, 67 (3-way tie)
  47. David, 67 (3-way tie)
  48. Wesley, 67 (3-way tie)
  49. Nolan, 66 (tie)
  50. Parker, 66 (tie)

Nearly 13,000 names were registered in Alberta in 2022, and well over 8,000 of these names were given to a single baby. Here’s a selection of the baby names bestowed just once in the province last year:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Acâhkosak, Buffalo-Omeasoo, Cloudlyn, Dixita, Equinox, Febechi, Goncharov, Humanitas, Izcalli, Jenniferjeet, Kanak, Letley, Midnightsky, Mikwan, Nîpin, O’Telly, Philia, Pridhi, Qana, Rooi, Sîsîkwan, Tessandra, Undina, Virianzel, Waylynn, Xiantal, Yseult, ZeebellaAudacieux, Bramber, Chrisser, Dutch, Etoile-Soleil, Frontier, Gavroche, Hendricks, Innis, Jinmu, Kikotawân, Lazael, Mîhkokwan, Mihkwaskâw, Navi, Okihcihtâw, Okîsikow, Piyesiwak, Quezon, Rocker, Spruce, Trudeau, Uazuva, Vlix, Walt, Xildian, Yelta, Ziggs

Some possible explanations and/or influences for a few of the above:

  • Acâhkosak means “stars” in Cree.
  • Audacieux means “audacious, bold” in French.
  • Etoile-Soleil means “star-sun” in French.
  • Gavroche is a young character from the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables (1862).
  • Humanitas is a Latin word meaning “human nature” and “humaneness” (among other things).
  • Izcalli, the last month of the Aztec calendar, means “stone house” in Nahuatl.
  • Kikotawân is based on the Cree word kotawân, meaning “campfire.”
  • Mîhkokwan means “red feather” in Cree.
  • Mihkwaskâw means “red sky” or “red clouds at sunset” in Cree.
  • Mikwan means “feather” in Cree.
  • Nîpin means “summer” in Cree.
  • Okihcihtâw means “warrior” in Cree.
  • Okîsikow means “angel” in Cree.
  • Piyesiwak means “thunder” in Cree.
  • Pridhi is based on a Sanskrit word meaning “circumference” and “halo” (among other things).
  • Quezon is both a province and a city in the Philippines.
  • Sîsîkwan means “rattle” in Cree.
  • Trudeau is the surname of Justin Trudeau, Canada’s current prime minister.

Finally, here’s a link to Alberta’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Alberta’s top baby names – Alberta.ca, Top baby names of 2022 revealed – Alberta.ca, Online Cree Dictionary, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)

Popular baby names in Austin (Texas), 2017

Flag of Texas
Flag of Texas

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a set of baby name data for Austin, Texas, for the year 2017. While it isn’t current, it does seem to be complete — so it includes hundreds of rare and single-use names (which are always fascinating!).

The data accounts for nearly 19,900 births (9,733 girls and 10,163 boys), and features nearly 6,100 names (3,431 given to girls, 2,656 given to boys).

According to this data, which comes from the City of Austin’s Open Data Portal, the top baby names in the capital of Texas five years ago were Emma and James.

Here are Austin’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 98 baby girls
  2. Isabella, 88
  3. Olivia, 84
  4. Mia, 81
  5. Evelyn, 77
  6. Sophia, 75
  7. Ava, 73
  8. Abigail, 59 (tie)
  9. Charlotte, 59 (tie)
  10. Emily, 58
  11. Camila, 56 (tie)
  12. Elizabeth, 56 (tie)
  13. Harper, 53
  14. Amelia, 52
  15. Penelope, 51 (tie)
  16. Sofia, 51 (tie)
  17. Scarlett, 46
  18. Ella, 45
  19. Avery, 43 (tie)
  20. Zoe, 43 (tie)
  21. Lillian, 41
  22. Layla, 40 (tie)
  23. Madison, 40 (tie)
  24. Eleanor, 39
  25. Victoria, 38
  26. Allison, 37
  27. Claire, 36 (3-way tie)
  28. Elena, 36 (3-way tie)
  29. Luna, 36 (3-way tie)
  30. Aria, 35 (tie)
  31. Chloe, 35 (tie)
  32. Ellie, 34 (tie)
  33. Katherine, 34 (tie)
  34. Samantha, 33
  35. Hannah, 30 (4-way tie)
  36. Hazel, 30 (4-way tie)
  37. Mila, 30 (4-way tie)
  38. Stella, 30 (4-way tie)
  39. Leah, 29
  40. Cora, 28 (5-way tie)
  41. Genesis, 28 (5-way tie)
  42. Grace, 28 (5-way tie)
  43. Natalie, 28 (5-way tie)
  44. Ximena, 28 (5-way tie)
  45. Clara, 27 (3-way tie)
  46. Eliana, 27 (3-way tie)
  47. Ruby, 27 (3-way tie)
  48. Audrey, 26 (tie)
  49. Sarah, 26 (tie)
  50. Alexa, 25 (3-way tie)
  51. Everly, 25 (3-way tie)
  52. Lily, 25 (3-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. James, 104 baby boys
  2. Noah, 85
  3. Daniel, 83
  4. Benjamin, 82
  5. William, 80
  6. Oliver, 75
  7. Liam, 74
  8. Alexander, 73
  9. Sebastian, 70
  10. Henry, 67
  11. Elijah, 66 (tie)
  12. Mateo, 66 (tie)
  13. Ethan, 65
  14. Jackson, 63
  15. Anthony, 61
  16. Jacob, 60
  17. Aiden, 59 (tie)
  18. Luke, 59 (tie)
  19. David, 58 (tie)
  20. Samuel, 58 (tie)
  21. John, 56
  22. Isaac, 55 (tie)
  23. Julian, 55 (tie)
  24. Michael, 54
  25. Charles, 53 (3-way tie)
  26. Jack, 53 (3-way tie)
  27. Matthew, 53 (3-way tie)
  28. Jose, 52 (tie)
  29. Joshua, 52 (tie)
  30. Wyatt, 50
  31. Aaron, 49 (4-way tie)
  32. Grayson, 49 (4-way tie)
  33. Joseph, 49 (4-way tie)
  34. Levi, 49 (4-way tie)
  35. Dylan, 48
  36. Hudson, 47
  37. Josiah, 46 (3-way tie)
  38. Logan, 46 (3-way tie)
  39. Santiago, 46 (3-way tie)
  40. Jayden, 45
  41. Nathan, 44
  42. Christopher, 43 (tie)
  43. Thomas, 43 (tie)
  44. Andrew, 42 (4-way tie)
  45. Gabriel, 42 (4-way tie)
  46. Luis, 42 (4-way tie)
  47. Owen, 42 (4-way tie)
  48. Lucas, 41
  49. Adrian, 40 (3-way tie)
  50. Axel, 40 (3-way tie)
  51. Christian, 40 (3-way tie)

On the girls’ list, Allison caught my eye. It ranked 26th in Austin in 2017, but 61st nationally the same year. Interesting.

Farther down on the boys’ list was Austin itself, in 95th place — vs. 75th nationally — with 21 baby boys. Much farther down was Texas, with 2 baby boys.

And now it’s time for the unique names!

One-of-a-kind names were given to 24% of the baby girls and 17% of the baby boys born in Austin in 2017. Here’s a sampling of the names that were bestowed just once:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Aubrion, Autry, Blue Jay, Cadeau, Ceiba, Dulceluna, Eeriemoon, Fiza, Gilana, Holleen, Itzigueri, Jill, Kasleen, Lillabee, L’Oreal, Mauzie, Millioni, Nincye, Nobelina, Orchid, Princess Plethora, Qiwei, Roshnee, Scepter, Shanze, Thais, Tsumugi, Umutoni, Vyga, Wengiel, Xyzla, Ynafets, ZieglindAshton Alchimist, Bruges, Cayenne, Dalbus, Eames, Fenghua, Ganesh, Getsai, Hackett, Itzae, Jizael, Kavelli Kaine, Linnaeus, Linux, Mazoree, Mistral, Naranna, Nimbus, Olince, Penn, Qhing, Rigveda, Shooter, Syphax, Tavoric, Templar, Urfan, Vetri, Wajahat, Xavi, Yoonbin, Zaxton

Some possible explanations/associations for a few of the above:

  • Cadeau is the French word for “present, gift.”
  • Ceiba is a type of tree.
  • Tsumugi Shirogane is a character from the 2017 video game Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
  • Ynafets is “Stefany” spelled backwards.
  • Bruges is the capital of West Flanders (a province of Belgium).
  • Mistral is a strong late-winter wind in southern France.
  • The Rigveda is a sacred Hindu text.

I’ve never posted rankings for Austin before, but I have posted rankings recently for two nearby Texas cities: Houston (which is more than twice the size of Austin, population-wise) and College Station (which is about an eighth of the size of Austin).

Sources: From Aadhav to Zyva: 6,087 Names of Babies Born in Austin in 2017 | Open Data | City of Austin Texas, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Texas (public domain)

Where did the baby name Tamarisk come from in 1979?

The book "Tamarisk" (1978)
The book “Tamarisk“

The curious name Tamarisk first popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 1979. It stuck around for one more year, then disappeared again:

  • 1981: unlisted
  • 1980: 5 baby girls named Tamarisk
  • 1979: 9 baby girls named Tamarisk [debut]
  • 1978: unlisted
  • 1977: unlisted

Where did it come from?

A romance novel.

The historical romance Tamarisk (1978) was written by British novelist Claire Lorrimer (pen name of Patricia Robins). It was set in Georgian-era England and the main character was a capricious teenager named Tamarisk Barre.

The book "Tamarisk" (1978)
The book “Tamarisk“

Tamarisk was part of Robins’ “Women of Fire” trilogy, which included Mavreen (1976) and Chantal (1980).

I’m not sure how the character came to have the name “Tamarisk,” but the word refers to the flowering trees/shrubs of the Old World genus Tamarix. Tamarisk trees may have gotten their name from the river Támaris (today called the Tambre) in Spain.

What do you think of Tamarisk as a baby name? Would you use it?

Sources: SSA, Tamarix – Wikipedia, Patricia Robins – Wikipedia

Top one-syllable baby names of 2021

single tree

Which one-syllable baby names were the most popular in the U.S. in 2021?

I scanned the 2021 U.S. baby name data and found these:

Girl Names

  1. Grace (ranked 34th overall)
  2. Claire (59th)
  3. Quinn (80th)
  4. Jade (91st)
  5. Rose (116th)
  6. Maeve (124th)
  7. Sloane (143rd)
  8. Reese (147th)
  9. Faith (169th)
  10. June (175th)

(A little lower down were Sage, Ruth, and Blake.)

Boy Names

  1. James (ranked 5th overall)
  2. Jack (11th)
  3. John (27th)
  4. Luke (32nd)
  5. Kai (71st)
  6. Brooks (77th)
  7. Beau (94th)
  8. Jace (102nd)
  9. Chase (125th)
  10. Cole (132nd)

(A little lower down were George, Rhett, and Jude.)

These lists include the same names that appeared on the 2020 lists, but in both cases the names are in a slightly different order.

And, of course, here’s the usual disclaimer: I left out the borderline boy names (Owen, Wyatt, Charles, Miles/Myles, Ryan, Ian, Rowan, Gael) that can be pronounced with either one or two syllables, depending upon the accent of the speaker. Notably, all nine of these names ranked higher than both Chase and Cole.

For more single-syllable names, check out the one-syllable girl names and one-syllable boy names posts.

Image: Adapted from 1 Drvo 06241 by Olja Simovic under CC BY-SA 4.0.