Unisex name · since 1880
Cleo
Cleo has 33,565 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1920 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #778 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #577 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 33,565
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
33,565 babies have been named Cleo since 1880, making it today's #577 unisex name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cleo has been recorded 33,565 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #577 nationally and more common than 97% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1920s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #778 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #577 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 33,565 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cleo ranks #778 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #577 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 33,565 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #778 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #577 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 33,565
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Cleo's 33,565 recorded births place it above 98.92% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
47 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Cleo compares
33,565 Top 5% higher than 95% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls 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
Cleo's all-time total is 89x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Cleo | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 33,565 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,049 | 21 | 19,840 |
Cleo's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Cleo splits its recorded history at 1953: 21% of all births land in the more recent half, 79% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1880 (17 births) -- compare that against the 1920 peak of 1,049 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Cleo popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1920)
- 1,049
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Cleo popularity over time - boys
11,527 total births recorded since 1880 (Cleo as boys' name)
Cleo by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (8,218 births, 24% of the file).
1920s was Cleo's strongest decade.
8,218 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 24% of all-time use.
Cleo births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 358
1880s
358 births
- 1890s 1,153
1890s
1,153 births
- 1900s 2,441
1900s
2,441 births
- 1910s
1910s
7,368 births
- 1920s
1920s
8,218 births
- 1930s
1930s
4,183 births
- 1940s 2,239
1940s
2,239 births
- 1950s 1,321
1950s
1,321 births
- 1960s 578
1960s
578 births
- 1970s 331
1970s
331 births
- 1980s 309
1980s
309 births
- 1990s 471
1990s
471 births
- 2000s 610
2000s
610 births
- 2010s 1,380
2010s
1,380 births
- 2020s 2,605
2020s
2,605 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 8,218 births (24% of all-time use).
How Cleo compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Cleo's total volume
Cleo by state
Where Cleo concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 2,298 | 6.8% |
| #2 | California | | 1,412 | 4.2% |
| #3 | North Carolina | | 1,340 | 4.0% |
| #4 | Georgia | | 1,309 | 3.9% |
| #5 | Oklahoma | | 1,084 | 3.2% |
| #6 | Tennessee | | 958 | 2.9% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 905 | 2.7% |
| #8 | Illinois | | 897 | 2.7% |
2,298 of 33,565 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 47 reporting states.
Cleo appears in 47 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Cleo? ▼
Where does Cleo sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Cleo most popular? ▼
Where is Cleo most popular? ▼
Is Cleo a unisex name? ▼
How long has the name Cleo been used? ▼
What names are similar to Cleo? ▼
What to do with Cleo's data
- Cleo's decade-level peak was the 1920s (8,218 total births); usage has since declined to 2,605 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Cleos (2,298 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 Cleo
Nearby Names Like Cleo
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Cleo
Compare Cleo side by side: Cleo vs Clementine Cleo vs Cleta Cleo vs Clemmie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Cleo
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Cleo: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1920)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
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 Cleo 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.