Sinclair

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A Scottish family name borne by various people, including the American novelist Upton Sinclair and the British inventor Clive Sinclair
2. A surname of Scottish origin carried by many notable people, such as the American writer Upton Sinclair
3. A family name of Norman-Scottish origin, well known through figures like the author Upton Sinclair and the engineer Clive Sinclair

Etymology: Sinclair is a surname whose story runs through Normandy, Scotland and the Scottish church. The family took its name from Saint Clare, to whom the clan's churches were dedicated, and the name passed into Scotland with the family's rise there. The surname reached its most famous bearers through the Sinclair earls of Caithness and Orkney, and it became the name of a whole Scottish clan. Because the family's religious ties ran through churches named for the saint, the name carries a saint's identity into the family's own history rather than a place or a trade.