Given name & surname · also Scottish
Sinclair
“man from Saint Clair”
Sinclair carries a Scottish surname history that begins with a Norman place name.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “man from Saint Clair.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Scottish.
The story
The Sinclair surname connects with a Norman family associated with Saint-Clair in northern France and later with the earldoms of Caithness and Orkney. The novelist Sinclair Lewis may have encouraged its twentieth-century use as a first name.
Sinclair through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,912
- 1,435 boys · 477 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 43 babies
- 2025
- 43
- #4,740 for girls · #6,400 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +45%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 29 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,740 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 74.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 14 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, Georgia had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (5). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,242 as a first name in 2020; 27,347 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Sinclair’s family of names
Sinclair has a related form in Sinclaire. In English usage, Sinclair has a related form in Saint Clare. Sinclair has a related form in Sinclare.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Sinclair
- Sinclair HoodIrish anthropologist and archaeologist1917–2021
- Sinclair StevensCanadian politician (1927–2016)
- Sinclair RossCanadian banker and writer (1908–1996)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Sinclair, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Silver
“a precious metal; whiteskinned” · “a precious metal; a whiteskinned man”
27% boys · 73% girls
Southern
“woman of the South” · “man from the south”
39% boys · 61% girls
Tully
“of the mighty people”
46% boys · 54% girls
Hartford
“from the stag's ford”
50% boys · 50% girls
Winslow
“from a friend's hill”
29% boys · 71% girls
Sadler
“one who makes harnesses”
58% boys · 42% girls
Aris
“the best” · “one who is superior”
59% boys · 41% girls
Roe
“one who hunts deer”
46% boys · 54% girls