Boys' name · since 1880

Clay

40,252 babies named Clay in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1960. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#573 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#573 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
40,252
born since 1880
1990s
peak decade

40,252 babies have been named Clay since 1880, making it today's #573 boys' name.

Clay has 40,252 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #573 as of the latest data, more common than 96% of boys, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.

  • #573 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #573 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 40,252 born since 1880
  • 1990s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Clay ranks #573 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #573 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 40,252 born since 1880, peaking in the 1990s.

#573 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#573 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
40,252
born since 1880
1990s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%95.8%
Clay vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Clay's 40,252 recorded births place it above 98.74% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

46 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

46 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.

How Clay compares

40,252 Top 5% higher than 95% of 13,930 names currently given to boys

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Clay's all-time total is 109x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Clay Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 40,252 369 358,536
Peak-year births 904 34 22,252

Clay's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Clay splits its recorded history at 1953: 84% of all births land in the more recent half, 16% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1891 (11 births) -- compare that against the 1960 peak of 904 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Clay popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1960)
904
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
02004006008001,000 188018991918193719561975199420132025 515

Clay popularity over time - girls

273 total births recorded since 1891 (Clay as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 273 births
46810121416 189119201926193719431955197020042024 5

Clay by decade

1990s is the heaviest window (5,806 births, 14% of the file).

1990s was Clay's strongest decade.

5,806 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 14% of all-time use.

Clay births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1990s at 5,806 births (14% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Clay compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Clay's total volume

Clay vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8%10% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -36, 6%-115, 3.2%-122, 2.7%-78, 4.4%-146, 2.3%-146, 2%-146, 3.1%-146, 1.9%-146, 2.1%-140, 3.5%-55, 8.8%-50, 8.6%-35, 5.5%-135, 4.7%-144, 2.9%Clay-146, 2.2%Clay
Clay vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Clay by state

Where Clay concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Clay
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
4,377 10.9%
#2 California
2,629 6.5%
#3 Ohio
1,728 4.3%
#4 Kentucky
1,654 4.1%
#5 Tennessee
1,581 3.9%
#6 North Carolina
1,543 3.8%
#7 Florida
1,344 3.3%
#8 Louisiana
1,314 3.3%
Texas share of Clay's total US births 10.9%
Even split

4,377 of 40,252 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 46 reporting states.

Clay appears in 46 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Clay? ▼
Since 1880, Social Security records show 40,252 babies named Clay. Across the full SSA archive it ranks #573 of 45,481 boys' names by total births. In 2025, it holds #573 of 13,930 among boys. Its busiest year on record was 1960, with 904 births.
Where does Clay sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Clay ranks #573 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #573 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Clay most popular? ▼
Clay was most popular in the 1990s decade with 5,806 total births. The single peak year was 1960.
Where is Clay most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Clay are Texas (4,377 births), California (2,629 births), Ohio (1,728 births).
How long has the name Clay been used? ▼
Records for Clay go back to 1880, giving 146 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Clay? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Clarence, Clayton, Claude, Clark, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Clay's data

  • Clay's usage has stayed within range of its 1990s decade-level peak (5,806 total births) through the 2020s (2,875) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • Texas records the most Clays (4,377 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Clay

Nearby Names Like Clay

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Clay

Clarence Boy
#1499 303,564 births
Clayton Boy
#300 139,344 births
Claude Boy
#3036 91,337 births
Clark Boy
#377 50,851 births
Clair Boy
12,041 births

Compare Clay side by side: Clay vs Clarence Clay vs Clayton Clay vs Claude

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Clay

Johan #572
14,653 births · Peak 2016
Emanuel #574
54,756 births · Peak 2007
Enrique #571
61,234 births · Peak 2000
Rhodes #575
2,741 births · Peak 2025
Jakai #570
4,059 births · Peak 2025
Jamari #576
15,240 births · Peak 2008
Roberto #569
112,643 births · Peak 1991
Jamie #577
88,654 births · Peak 1976

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Clay: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Clay draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.