Santa Clara ( SAN-tə KLARR-ə; Spanish for "Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County in the state of California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the city was founded by the Spanish in 1777 with the establishment of Mission Santa Clara de Asís under the leadership of Junípero Serra. Santa Clara is located in the center of Silicon Valley and is home to the headquarters of companies such as Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, and Nvidia. It is also home to Santa Clara University, the oldest university in California, and Levi's Stadium, the home of the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers, and Six Flags Entertainment Corporation's California's Great America Park. Santa Clara is bordered by San Jose on all sides, except for Sunnyvale and Cupertino to the west.