Cleve
Cleve was last recorded in 2013, when 5 babies were given it; 4,529 Americans have been recorded with it between 1882 and 2013 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,670 Americans named Cleve and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (37% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 50 and 74.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cleve by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cleve mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cleve is “a male given name, found predominantly in the United States.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cleve?
Unranked in 2025
Its last boys’ rank on record is #12,485, in 2013; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
83 babies in 1951, the peak
Cleve peaked in 1951, when 83 boys were given it, #766 among boys’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 5 | #12,485 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 5 | #12,589 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 9 | #8,417 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 8 | #9,053 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 5 | #12,372 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 5 | #11,753 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 5 | #11,672 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 5 | #11,186 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 7 | #8,335 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 7 | #8,001 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (126)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 5 | #9,516 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 8 | #6,599 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 8 | #6,484 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 11 | #5,153 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 10 | #5,409 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 18 | #3,473 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 24 | #2,757 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 13 | #4,201 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 17 | #3,335 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 15 | #3,377 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 11 | #4,006 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 13 | #3,472 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 16 | #2,964 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 22 | #2,308 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 23 | #2,218 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 16 | #2,860 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 18 | #2,589 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 34 | #1,700 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 19 | #2,481 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 29 | #1,804 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 38 | #1,493 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 26 | #1,883 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 21 | #2,144 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 28 | #1,701 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 24 | #1,825 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 42 | #1,288 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 33 | #1,497 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 34 | #1,440 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 36 | #1,330 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 28 | #1,481 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 31 | #1,367 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 40 | #1,180 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 34 | #1,318 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 36 | #1,313 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 45 | #1,154 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 49 | #1,092 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 54 | #1,059 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 47 | #1,138 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 67 | #940 | 0.03 |
| 1958 | 61 | #969 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 55 | #1,023 | 0.03 |
| 1956 | 63 | #940 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 67 | #908 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 80 | #807 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 69 | #862 | 0.03 |
| 1952 | 73 | #821 | 0.04 |
| 1951 | 83 | #766 | 0.04 |
| 1950 | 64 | #852 | 0.04 |
| 1949 | 68 | #823 | 0.04 |
| 1948 | 78 | #766 | 0.04 |
| 1947 | 80 | #768 | 0.04 |
| 1946 | 47 | #986 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 45 | #961 | 0.03 |
| 1944 | 49 | #908 | 0.04 |
| 1943 | 56 | #894 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 53 | #912 | 0.04 |
| 1941 | 38 | #1,053 | 0.03 |
| 1940 | 39 | #1,033 | 0.03 |
| 1939 | 43 | #956 | 0.04 |
| 1938 | 51 | #872 | 0.05 |
| 1937 | 38 | #1,036 | 0.04 |
| 1936 | 53 | #834 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 50 | #895 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 61 | #792 | 0.06 |
| 1933 | 57 | #821 | 0.06 |
| 1932 | 53 | #875 | 0.05 |
| 1931 | 44 | #999 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 47 | #992 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 52 | #933 | 0.05 |
| 1928 | 64 | #819 | 0.06 |
| 1927 | 52 | #965 | 0.05 |
| 1926 | 54 | #917 | 0.05 |
| 1925 | 50 | #958 | 0.04 |
| 1924 | 55 | #945 | 0.05 |
| 1923 | 52 | #954 | 0.05 |
| 1922 | 63 | #865 | 0.06 |
| 1921 | 61 | #895 | 0.06 |
| 1920 | 65 | #837 | 0.06 |
| 1919 | 57 | #879 | 0.06 |
| 1918 | 61 | #842 | 0.06 |
| 1917 | 61 | #809 | 0.07 |
| 1916 | 62 | #782 | 0.07 |
| 1915 | 62 | #762 | 0.07 |
| 1914 | 57 | #673 | 0.09 |
| 1913 | 30 | #901 | 0.06 |
| 1912 | 41 | #661 | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 23 | #652 | 0.10 |
| 1910 | 30 | #513 | 0.15 |
| 1909 | 21 | #578 | 0.13 |
| 1908 | 19 | #593 | 0.12 |
| 1907 | 24 | #474 | 0.16 |
| 1906 | 18 | #551 | 0.14 |
| 1905 | 16 | #597 | 0.12 |
| 1904 | 14 | #619 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 15 | #582 | 0.13 |
| 1902 | 16 | #540 | 0.13 |
| 1901 | 12 | #610 | 0.11 |
| 1900 | 16 | #629 | 0.11 |
| 1899 | 14 | #525 | 0.13 |
| 1898 | 16 | #527 | 0.13 |
| 1897 | 25 | #376 | 0.22 |
| 1896 | 17 | #506 | 0.14 |
| 1895 | 16 | #507 | 0.14 |
| 1894 | 26 | #359 | 0.22 |
| 1893 | 28 | #334 | 0.25 |
| 1892 | 35 | #313 | 0.29 |
| 1891 | 24 | #349 | 0.24 |
| 1890 | 18 | #426 | 0.16 |
| 1889 | 22 | #380 | 0.20 |
| 1888 | 44 | #269 | 0.36 |
| 1887 | 34 | #279 | 0.34 |
| 1886 | 36 | #283 | 0.32 |
| 1885 | 69 | #191 | 0.64 |
| 1884 | 65 | #205 | 0.57 |
| 1883 | 12 | #533 | 0.11 |
| 1882 | 13 | #519 | 0.11 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Cleve a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Cleve has been given almost only to boys: 23 girls in 126 years of records.
Girls and boys named Cleve: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cleve, and how old are they?
1,670 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 37% of the 4,529 Americans ever recorded as Cleve. The median Cleve alive today is 64 years old; half are between 50 and 74.
The 2020 Census counted 1,840 people named Cleve (36 women and girls, 1,804 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,951 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 167 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 768 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 437 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 230 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 60 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 5 |
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 Cleve born?
The states with the most babies named Cleve are Georgia, Texas and Alabama, with 51% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 143 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Texas | 143 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Alabama | 136 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| California | 61 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Mississippi | 61 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Louisiana | 59 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| South Carolina | 39 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Arkansas | 34 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Florida | 32 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Tennessee | 31 | not ranked | 0.3× |
Where Cleve is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cleve is most over-represented in Alabama: since 1910 it was given 1.5 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 Cleve 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 4,932 babies since 1880, Cleve is the most given (92% of them).
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 Cleve
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 Cleve and names like it
- Compare Cleve and CleaveBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sCleve peaked in 1951.
- Georgia’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cleve since 1910.
- The top names of 1951The year the most babies were named Cleve.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Cleve alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.