Clay
Clay was given to 515 boys in 2025, #573 among boys’ names; 40,525 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 31,700 Americans named Clay and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (78% of everyone recorded); the median is 37 years old and half are between 23 and 58.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Clay by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Clay mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Clay is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the sense “clay” (clǣġ).
Also “a diminutive of the male given name Clayton.”
From a Middle English occupational name for a clay worker, or a habitational name, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”).
/kleɪ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Clay?
#573 among boys’ names, 2025
Clay rose from #720 in 2015 to #573 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.18 to 0.30 per 1,000.
911 babies in 1960, the peak
Clay peaked in 1960, when 911 babies were given it (904 boys, #265 among boys’ names). The 515 births of 2025 are 57% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 515 | #573 | 0.30 |
| 2024 | 545 | #544 | 0.32 |
| 2023 | 494 | #581 | 0.29 |
| 2022 | 453 | #618 | 0.26 |
| 2021 | 451 | #617 | 0.26 |
| 2020 | 417 | #644 | 0.24 |
| 2019 | 376 | #682 | 0.21 |
| 2018 | 353 | #688 | 0.19 |
| 2017 | 355 | #694 | 0.19 |
| 2016 | 339 | #724 | 0.18 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 342 | #720 | 0.18 |
| 2014 | 269 | #841 | 0.14 |
| 2013 | 321 | #729 | 0.17 |
| 2012 | 322 | #726 | 0.17 |
| 2011 | 316 | #720 | 0.17 |
| 2010 | 273 | #794 | 0.14 |
| 2009 | 213 | #948 | 0.11 |
| 2008 | 250 | #853 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 281 | #775 | 0.14 |
| 2006 | 309 | #707 | 0.15 |
| 2005 | 330 | #654 | 0.17 |
| 2004 | 383 | #582 | 0.19 |
| 2003 | 519 | #479 | 0.26 |
| 2002 | 597 | #417 | 0.31 |
| 2001 | 573 | #427 | 0.29 |
| 2000 | 641 | #396 | 0.33 |
| 1999 | 603 | #403 | 0.31 |
| 1998 | 623 | #393 | 0.33 |
| 1997 | 643 | #379 | 0.34 |
| 1996 | 648 | #369 | 0.34 |
| 1995 | 714 | #344 | 0.38 |
| 1994 | 689 | #353 | 0.36 |
| 1993 | 494 | #444 | 0.25 |
| 1992 | 433 | #484 | 0.22 |
| 1991 | 465 | #459 | 0.23 |
| 1990 | 494 | #444 | 0.24 |
| 1989 | 451 | #444 | 0.23 |
| 1988 | 488 | #406 | 0.25 |
| 1987 | 467 | #402 | 0.25 |
| 1986 | 412 | #423 | 0.22 |
| 1985 | 416 | #418 | 0.23 |
| 1984 | 380 | #425 | 0.21 |
| 1983 | 373 | #424 | 0.21 |
| 1982 | 345 | #458 | 0.19 |
| 1981 | 333 | #455 | 0.19 |
| 1980 | 350 | #443 | 0.20 |
| 1979 | 345 | #431 | 0.20 |
| 1978 | 369 | #401 | 0.22 |
| 1977 | 421 | #382 | 0.26 |
| 1976 | 434 | #367 | 0.28 |
| 1975 | 454 | #365 | 0.29 |
| 1974 | 422 | #373 | 0.27 |
| 1973 | 470 | #354 | 0.30 |
| 1972 | 439 | #374 | 0.27 |
| 1971 | 520 | #352 | 0.29 |
| 1970 | 456 | #379 | 0.25 |
| 1969 | 431 | #378 | 0.24 |
| 1968 | 389 | #394 | 0.22 |
| 1967 | 361 | #403 | 0.21 |
| 1966 | 360 | #395 | 0.20 |
| 1965 | 440 | #369 | 0.24 |
| 1964 | 571 | #328 | 0.29 |
| 1963 | 656 | #303 | 0.32 |
| 1962 | 705 | #288 | 0.34 |
| 1961 | 900 | #259 | 0.42 |
| 1960 | 904 | #265 | 0.42 |
| 1959 | 826 | #276 | 0.39 |
| 1958 | 723 | #284 | 0.34 |
| 1957 | 594 | #313 | 0.28 |
| 1956 | 485 | #339 | 0.23 |
| 1955 | 426 | #349 | 0.21 |
| 1954 | 340 | #387 | 0.17 |
| 1953 | 270 | #430 | 0.14 |
| 1952 | 267 | #425 | 0.14 |
| 1951 | 225 | #449 | 0.12 |
| 1950 | 180 | #496 | 0.10 |
| 1949 | 176 | #501 | 0.10 |
| 1948 | 171 | #505 | 0.10 |
| 1947 | 145 | #561 | 0.08 |
| 1946 | 114 | #606 | 0.07 |
| 1945 | 97 | #612 | 0.07 |
| 1944 | 110 | #585 | 0.08 |
| 1943 | 125 | #568 | 0.09 |
| 1942 | 123 | #554 | 0.09 |
| 1941 | 106 | #576 | 0.09 |
| 1940 | 128 | #510 | 0.11 |
| 1939 | 122 | #514 | 0.11 |
| 1938 | 113 | #546 | 0.10 |
| 1937 | 117 | #537 | 0.11 |
| 1936 | 124 | #509 | 0.12 |
| 1935 | 110 | #548 | 0.11 |
| 1934 | 117 | #545 | 0.11 |
| 1933 | 114 | #534 | 0.11 |
| 1932 | 123 | #524 | 0.12 |
| 1931 | 117 | #540 | 0.11 |
| 1930 | 131 | #524 | 0.12 |
| 1929 | 107 | #579 | 0.10 |
| 1928 | 135 | #519 | 0.12 |
| 1927 | 155 | #487 | 0.14 |
| 1926 | 131 | #528 | 0.12 |
| 1925 | 144 | #507 | 0.13 |
| 1924 | 151 | #509 | 0.13 |
| 1923 | 134 | #525 | 0.12 |
| 1922 | 189 | #442 | 0.17 |
| 1921 | 160 | #489 | 0.15 |
| 1920 | 147 | #498 | 0.14 |
| 1919 | 128 | #527 | 0.13 |
| 1918 | 146 | #495 | 0.14 |
| 1917 | 125 | #515 | 0.14 |
| 1916 | 133 | #494 | 0.15 |
| 1915 | 132 | #485 | 0.16 |
| 1914 | 107 | #466 | 0.16 |
| 1913 | 89 | #461 | 0.17 |
| 1912 | 75 | #456 | 0.17 |
| 1911 | 52 | #396 | 0.23 |
| 1910 | 28 | #540 | 0.14 |
| 1909 | 35 | #421 | 0.21 |
| 1908 | 33 | #414 | 0.21 |
| 1907 | 31 | #408 | 0.21 |
| 1906 | 36 | #346 | 0.27 |
| 1905 | 34 | #355 | 0.26 |
| 1904 | 32 | #354 | 0.25 |
| 1903 | 27 | #370 | 0.23 |
| 1902 | 33 | #339 | 0.27 |
| 1901 | 21 | #409 | 0.20 |
| 1900 | 41 | #337 | 0.27 |
| 1899 | 23 | #385 | 0.22 |
| 1898 | 40 | #289 | 0.33 |
| 1897 | 25 | #375 | 0.22 |
| 1896 | 30 | #353 | 0.25 |
| 1895 | 33 | #318 | 0.28 |
| 1894 | 42 | #271 | 0.36 |
| 1893 | 33 | #300 | 0.29 |
| 1892 | 23 | #394 | 0.19 |
| 1891 | 11 | #571 | 0.11 |
| 1890 | 32 | #303 | 0.29 |
| 1889 | 29 | #324 | 0.26 |
| 1888 | 31 | #324 | 0.26 |
| 1887 | 23 | #341 | 0.23 |
| 1886 | 28 | #321 | 0.25 |
| 1885 | 18 | #425 | 0.17 |
| 1884 | 32 | #307 | 0.28 |
| 1883 | 25 | #331 | 0.24 |
| 1882 | 17 | #438 | 0.15 |
| 1881 | 24 | #333 | 0.24 |
| 1880 | 18 | #406 | 0.16 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Clay a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Clay has been given almost only to boys: 273 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Clay: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Clay, and how old are they?
31,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 78% of the 40,525 Americans ever recorded as Clay. The median Clay alive today is 37 years old; half are between 23 and 58.
The 2020 Census counted 31,014 people named Clay (235 women and girls, 30,779 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 30,414 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 432 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 6,210 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 5,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 7,240 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 6,760 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 5,200 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Clay born?
The states with the most babies named Clay are Texas, California and Ohio, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 4,377 | #754 | 1.4× |
| California | 2,629 | #734 | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 1,728 | #721 | 0.9× |
| Kentucky | 1,654 | #285 | 2.3× |
| Tennessee | 1,581 | #436 | 1.8× |
| North Carolina | 1,543 | #517 | 1.3× |
| Florida | 1,344 | #917 | 0.9× |
| Louisiana | 1,314 | #603 | 1.7× |
| Georgia | 1,286 | #1,235 | 1.1× |
| Missouri | 1,263 | #240 | 1.4× |
Where Clay is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Clay is most over-represented in Kentucky: since 1910 it was given 2.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Clay with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 42,141 babies since 1880, Clay is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 515 of their 599 babies (86%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Clay
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Clay and names like it
- Compare Clay and KlayBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sClay peaked in 1960.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Clay since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Clay: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1960The year the most babies were named Clay.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Clay alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with CMost given first.